Llustre becomes uk.fab.com

Fab launched in June 2011 and to celebrate it's first birthday it is now launching uk.fab.com with the acquisition of Llustre. Fab has grown to over 5m people in 20 countries and has relationships with over 5,000 designers. Sales of items ranged from $1 to $20,000 and it has sold over 1.8m products. Llustre started life in October 2011 and launched in April 2012 and has grown rapidly to become a destination site for interior design flash sales in the UK and has already gained more than 500 design partners. Maria Molland (ex Thomson Reuters) will take on the role of Chief European Officer, while Tracy Doree (CoFounder of Llustre) will work for Maria as Managing Director of Fab UK and head of UK Merchandising and Vivianne Bearman (C-Founder Llustre) will lead the UK Product & Operations. Fab and Llustre have both grown phenomenally and the combined company can only do better.

Motorola buys Psion

Motorola Solutions (the bit of Motorola that wasn't acquired by Google that was the remnant after selling the other bits to Nokia Siemens Networks in 2011) has purchased Psion the UK handheld terminal manufacturer. Psion originally made organisers and designed Symbian (which was sold to Nokia) and have recently moved into the ruggedised terminal market. Motorola Solutions specialises in industrial-grade devices and business verticals, as well as public-safety networks in the United States and other markets so purchase should complement their existing services.

New great day of talks for founders raising cash

There's a great new conference being put on by General Assembly called A Founder's guide to fund-raising which should be good for any start-ups out there. You can see more on the event http://assembledcapitallondon.eventbrite.com/ and sign-up below.

Event management for ASSEMBLED CAPITAL: A Founder's Guide to Fundraising powered by Eventbrite

Do sign-up, it costs £200 but it's a great day of talks.

Blackberry 10 Jam

Yesterday 14th June 2012 Research in Motion held their UK Blackberry 10 Jam event in Vinapolis near London Bridge. The day was full of information about how to build native or HTML5 applications on the new Blackberry 10 operating system. RIM also gave away an Alpha dev 10 phone, which looks pretty similar to an iPhone, but without any buttons (apart form the power button). The unit also has a micro USB connector, an HDMI connector and a tray and slot for a micro SIM. After setting up the device (using your Blackberry ID), you get to the home screen, which gives you 2 apps, the camera and a browser (and of course settings which is part of the OS). Anything else you have to write yourself. In the US, the devices were given out with SIM cards and they are meant to be fully operational as phones (and allegedly there's even a dialler within RIM somewhere). It is possible to pair the device with a Bluetooth headset and then receive calls by answering through the headset. Also in the US developers were promised free upgrades to official Blackberry 10 devices when they are released. This may be the dying spasms of an organisation trying to attract developers with gifts, but Blackberry's OS 10 is actually rather good.

ICANN release applicants for new top level domains

ICANN or as it's properly known The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has released the list of applicants and the top level domains (TLDs) they've applied for [1]. Many of the names are expected, with big brands applying for their names such as car manufacturers and such like. Other large companies have also applied to register names of their services (such as Microsoft LIVE, but there's multiple applicants for that TLD). Amazon have also applied for a variety of TLDs (77 in fact) including AMAZON, APP, AUDIBLE, AUTHOR, AWS, BOOK, BOT, BOX (many of these will have multiple applicants). If there are multiple applicants for the same domain, ICANN will hold an auction and the highest bidder will get it. There are 40 applications from the UK (though there's a slight weirdness there as the ISO country code is actually GB so they're actually listed under that, why the UK chose UK over GB is a historical peculiarity) including LONDON which London and Partners applied for (the PR agency for London etc) and WALES applied for by Nominet who run the gTLD .uk Nicely ICANN have also published the corresponding applicants emails, which are (it can be assumed) now nicely being harvested by SPAM bots.

Spotify nows Plays on Android

Spotify has now released their app on to Google Play (formerly Android Marketplace). The app has been available from Spotify's site in beta for a while. The new features are

• Totally new app with full support for Android 4.0
• All-new slide-out navigation
• Crossfade/gapless playback settings
• Widget - control Spotify from the home screen
• Playlist folder support
• Even more social - check out friends’ profile pages and playlists on the go
• Artist imagery in high resolution
• Related artist view - available for the first time on mobile
• ‘Extreme’ sound quality setting for 320kbps listening
• Play queue
• Last.fm scrobbling
• Speed increases

In order to use the mobile version users need a Spotify Premium subscription. Spotify now gives access to over 18 million songs and is available in 15 countries including USA, UK, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, Spain, Australia and New Zealand. there are now over 10 million active users with over 3 million paying subscribers.

GoCardless release PayLinks

GoCardless the company that is revolutionising on-line payments has just released its Paylinks system. This allows anyone with a UK bank account to receive payments through a website. It is a very simple sign-up process that asks for an email/password and then a driving license or passport number and address/date of birth etc. Then back account details. You get a confirmation email and that it everything is done. The PayLinks site then prompts for an amount, whether it's a single payment or recurring (weekly, monthly, annually) and then it generates a unique URL that can be added to a site. Anyone clicking on the link will be prompted for their details and that's it a payment is made to the GoCardless user's account. GoCardless will hold payments for 7 days to ensure that nothing dubious is going on (probably earning interest for them too). GoCardless only charge 1% of the transaction or £2.00 whichever is less. GoCardless already offer what amounts to direct debit payments for merchants (i.e. no credit cards requited, just bank details) and this will just add to their disruptiveness and other payment providers must be quaking in their boots.

Plessey release consumer EPIC chip

Plessey Semiconductor have announced the release of an ultra low-cost version of their EPIC sensor for consumer applications (the PS25451). The chip is being aimed at consumer devices such as interactive toys, computer games, TVs, monitors and such like. The chips detect variance in the electronic potential in vicinity of the sensor and can detect the presence (or disappearance) of people. Thus can be used to automatically switch on lights or even detect multiple people for computer games. The original EPIC sensor used titanium dioxide electrodes which are expensive, but can be used in medical applications. These have been replaced by a novel cheaper electrode for the consumer device. It will cost under $1 in 50,000 units.

Apple isn't flattered by Flattr

Apple forces all iOS developers to use Apple's payment systems inside any iOS app and disallow the use any other method for in-app purchases. If Apple finds apps using 3rd party payment systems they will reject the app or remove it from the app store if it's already there. This has recently happened to app developer Vemedio who's Instacast app (an iOS podcasting aggregator) added Flattr support in Feb 2012 and auto-Flattr later allowing users to automatically donate to podcasts after they were playing and the update was rejected. On May 24th Apple forced Vemedio to remove Flattr support completely. The only way for apps to use 3rd party payment systems is to direct them to a website via Safari where payments can be made. Apple acknowledge that this may not provide the easiest flow for the user (as they have to leave the app, do whatever they need to do on a website, then return to the app), but it's the only way to ensure compliance. Flattr are in discussion with Apple to see if there is a solution that will satisfy Apple.

LG introduces HD 5 inch display

On Monday 28th May 2012 LG announced its new 5 inch display that will handle full HD at 1080p (1920 x 1080) at 440 pixels per inch (ppi). This improves on the iPhone's display which is 326ppi. The panel uses a technology known as Advanced Hi Performance In-Plane SwitchinG (AH-IPS) that is meant to support a wide viewing angle, lower power consumption and brighter light transmission which means it can be used outside. This just means that Apple's competitors can now provide great display s on their devices, though other technologies are sure to come out further increasing ppi, further decreasing power consumption and increasing brightness.

Mind Candy release iOS app

Mind Candy have developed its first in-house iOS app called Moshi Monsters: Moshlings. It's available on iTunes and costs £0.69 and works on both iPhone and iPad devices. It features; -

• Over 60 Moshlings
• Essential Moshling info – read about their personalities, habitats and much more
• Moshling secret codes – so you can catch ‘em at MoshiMonsters.com
• 100 stickers to customise your Moshlings
• Bring out your inner artist by scaling and rotating stickers
• Save your artwork at the touch of a button
• Create fangtastic wallpapers for your mobile gizmo
• More Moshlings on the way

Mindy Candy are on a roll

Moshi Monsters goes Mobile

Mind Candy, the parent company behind Moshi Monsters, has partnered with GREE to bring Moshi Monsters to the world of mobile phones. The partnership gives Moshi Monster's 60m registered users visibility and access to GREE mobile gaming platform, while GREE's 230m users are given access to Moshi Monsters. The mobile game is expected to be available by Q4 2012 and will be available in multiple languages including English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin and more. As well as having a range of best selling toys, the No1 selling children's magazine and the best selling Nintendo DS game, now Moshi Monsters is set to dominate the mobile gaming space too. Mind Candy is building an in-house team to continue mobile partnerships and development of mobile games. Moshi Monsters returned over $100m in 2011 and can only be expected to grow, they're on-track to be a £1bn company.

Plessey release new EPIC sensor for cars

Plessey Semiconductor have released a version of their EPIC sensor (PS25203) for automotive applications. This has a higher input impedance and lower gain which means it can be used for health monitoring in close proximity to to the driver by mounting electrodes in the rear of the seat. EPIC measures changes in the electric potential in the air which is distorted by other electric fields or objects and can detect the heart rate of a human without actually making direct contact with them. The sensor can also detect respiration and/or just presence (to check for occupancy of seats). The EPIC sensor is already in production for measuring ECG for ambulance use and also for remote detection of people. The new chip has had the digital signal processor addicted to work within the automotive environment. The detection of ECG and respiration in cars can be used to detect driver consciousness (i.e. to see if they are getting drowsy). The sensor will be launched at Chicago Sensor Expo 2012 will cost around $1-2 in volume and comes in a 4 pin PCB hybrid package measuring 10.5mm x 10.5mm x 3.45mm.

USPS won't ship devices with Lithium batteries

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has banned the mailing of any devices containing a lithium or lithium ion battery, whether in the device, in the same package or just the battery itself outside of the United States including to American Forces offices and Diplomatic offices. This is in-line with compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization and Universal Postal Union standards. Within the US, batteries can be posted but limits based on the watt-hour rating of the battery instead of the lithium content will be used. This means that devices such as mobile phones, tablets etc can no longer be shipped using USPS and other international carriers will have to be used such as UPS or Fedex as they have fire suppression systems on their planes which can cope with lithium fires but this may increase the shipping costs. Companies who have employees outside the US will now have to issue phones directly and have them carried as hand-luggage. It may also affect sites such as Ebay where electronics devices are regularly sold.

EU limits data and roaming charges

The EU is putting into effect changes to limit the amount operators can charge for datum calls sent and received and text messages (SMS). The new caps come into force on 1st July 2012 and replace any existing regulations that expire on 30th June 2012.

	Current	1 July 2012	1 July 2013	1 July 2014
Data (per MB)	Uncapped	70 cents	45 cents	20 cents
Phone calls made (per minute)	35 cents	29 cents	24 cents	19 cents
Phone calls received (per minute)	11 cents	8 cents	7 cents	5 cents
Text Message (per SMS)	11 cents	9 cents	8 cents	6 cents

Operator wholesale charges will be

	Current	1 July 2012	1 July 2013	1 July 2014
Data (per megabyte)	50 cents	25 cents	15 cents	5 cents
Phone calls (per minute)	18 cents	14 cents	10 cents	5 cents
Text Message (per SMS)	4 cents	3 cents	2 cents	2 cents

So operators will still make large profits as data and message volumes are still on the increase, they just get less per unit.

Peratech creates an Electronic Nose

Peratech has created a fast-acting electronic nose suitable for detecting Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). This is achieved by utilising a Quantum Tunnelling Composite (QTC) Material which change their resistance when a force is applied (which occurs in the presence of VOCs). The QTC material is able to detect VOCs at around 10-100ppm and can recover (i.e. when they are no longer present) in a couple of seconds. The material was developed in conduction with the University of Durham and Peratech is now looking for companies to license the technology and develop products suitable for the market.

Date via Spotify

On Thursday 10th May, Spotify launched two apps that allow users to find suitable dates based on their musical taste. The apps are Tastebuds and Fellody.

• Tastebuds: The app will match you with a potential partner based on the artists you’ve listened to most on Spotify and your collection of playlists. Filter matches by gender, age and location, and message matches in real-time and share playlists with them directly. Add your Songkick details to your profile to share gigs that you are going to on your profile – the perfect setting for an offline meet up!
• Fellody: Simply drag and drop Spotify playlists into the app to find friends and potential love interests with the highest match rate. Instantly send a ‘flirt’ or browse your matches’ tastes to discover new music. Check out the top artists to see the most popular artists amongst the Fellody community.

Tastebuds (based in the UK out of Cambridge) has acquired around 50,000 users, mainly in the US, UK and Brasil. They have been though the Springboard incubator program. Fellody are Swiss. Today Spotify also announced that it is arranging a 'house party' that anyone using Spotify can join in with. On June 1st 2012 DJ's Sebastian Ingrosso from Swedish House Mafia and Alesso will set-up a special room using the Spotify app Soundrop and they will share their tunes 'live'. Users will be able to vote on what the DJ's play next and chat to them.

O'Reilly Strata conference comes to London

The topic on everyone's mind (well the mind of geeks) is BIG DATA. Recently Big Data Week was held and events took place all over the world including London and San Francisco. Now O'Reilly Media (known for its technology books) is bringing its Strata conference to London this fall (October 1st and 2nd). Registrations will open in June. There's still a couple of days left to submit a proposal for the conference here, though the closing date is May 17th. Strata will be chaired by Kaitlin Thaney and Edd Dumbill and the conference will cover: -

• Data: Hadoop ecosystem, real-time data processing and analytics, crowdsourcing, data acquisition and cleaning, data distribution and markets, data science best practice, predictive analytics, machine learning, and data security.
• Business: From research to product, data protection, privacy and policy, becoming a data-driven organization, training, recruitment, management for data, and the changing role of business intelligence.
• Interfaces: Visualization and design principles, mobile strategy, applications & futures, augmented reality and immersive interfaces, dashboards, sensors, mobile & wireless, physical interfaces, and robotics.

The UK has some pioneering big data companies such as Datasift and it should be a good conference.

Ofcom changes 3G license conditions

On the 9th May 2012 Ofcom the super regulator changed the conditions for 3G license holders and the new conditions must be met by 20th June 2013. The changes are that the licensee must provide an electronic communications networks: - - That is capable of providing mobile telecommunications services to an area within which at least 90% of the population of the UK lives (this has been increased from the previous 80% population coverage obligation). - with a 90% probability that users in outdoor locations within that area can receive the service with a sustained downlink speed of not less than 768 kbps in a lightly loaded cell. Ofcom has worked with the operators on how these obligations can be measured and the methodology is available on-line as a PDF. This will benefit consumers as coverage will be increased.

Apple to intro new MBPs

Apple is expected to bring out new MacBook Pros (MBPs) at the Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) being held in San Francisco from Jun 11th through 15th. The MBPs will use Intel's new Ivy Bridge range of CPUs and are rumoured to use new 'retina' high resolution displays (which may have some substance as Apple's MacOS X 10.7.3 contained HiDPI UI assets and the latest release MacOS 10.7.4 doubles the icon resolution). The cases will also be thinner to bring them more in-line with the MacBook AIR versions, but they may lose their optical drives (which are becoming less useful anyway with the advent of high capacity USB memory and even external solid state disks (SSDs).