Virgin Mobile bought Helio this day for $39 million in equity. Helio is a small MVNO that made its name by selling powerful and high-end telephones aimed at technophiles and, thanks to an investment by South Korea’s SK Telecom, Korean-Americans. As part of the deal, Virgin Mobile is also receiving $50 million to pay down […]
Virgin Mobile purchased Helio this day for $39 million in equity. Helio is a small MVNO that made its name by selling powerful and high-end telephones aimed at technophiles and, thanks to an investment by South Korea’s SK Telecom, Korean-Americans. As part of the deal, Virgin Mobile is also receiving $50 million to pay down Helio’s debt (half from SK Telecom, and half from its parent company Virgin Group), as well as an additional revolving credit facility of $60 million. Just last September, SK Telecom tried to save Helio by pouring an extra $270 million into it, to no avail.
The Helio brand will be subsumed by Virgin Mobile. All of the Helio stores will close except, it’s reported, the flagship store in New York, and there’s a full restructuring of the company going on right now. Thus, after much struggling, Helio enters the deadpool.
Helio had 170,000 subscribers while Virgin Mobile currently has about 5 million. The deal will also give Virgin access to a number of technologies owned by Helio including customer management and cellphone deck applications.
Helio also has received investments from Earthlink, but when Earthlink pulled out last year and charismatic CEO Sky Dayton stepped down it was clear something was afoot.
Peter Ha at CrunchGear wrote a full analysis of the merger:
So what exactly does the merger mean for customers of Helio who have grown to love the hardware and features that Helio is best known for? Well, Virgin Mobile will be keeping all of those goodies in place. If you’ve seen any VM devices, you know they stink. VM is relatively boring and absorbing the technology Helio is best known for will certainly boost the MVNO’s status and appeal to a broader audience. That means future VM devices will include apps such as Google Maps with GPS, YouTube and MySpace… all of which Helio brought to the table before other carriers.
What about the Ocean 2? If you haven’t already figured it out by now, the Ocean 2 has been delayed over the last few months because of merger speaks. It’s unclear when the device will actually launch, but it hasn’t been scrapped.
While I hate to see Helio dissolve, this is great for both brands. VM knows how to make money while Helio knows how to create technology that works and is appealing.
With Helio gone Boost Mobile in the only targeted MVNO running in the US right now.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
By Andrew Liszewski Researchers at the University of Southern California’s ICT Graphics Lab have created a new type of holographic display that can generate simultaneous 3D views for multiple observers without the need for special glasses. The setup also happens to be relatively inexpensive since it’s built around a specially altered off-the-shelf DLP projector that works […]
By Andrew Liszewski
Researchers at the University of Southern California’s ICT Graphics Lab have created a new type of holographic display that can generate simultaneous 3D views for multiple observers without the need for special glasses. The setup also happens to be relatively inexpensive since it’s built around a specially altered off-the-shelf DLP projector that works with a spinning mirror.
The system works by projecting high-speed video onto a rapidly spinning mirror. As the mirror turns, it reflects a different and accurate image to each potential viewer. Our rendering algorithm can recreate both virtual and real scenes with correct occlusion, horizontal and vertical perspective, and shading.
What that means is that the projected hologram is updated about 200 times a second to adjust for the height and distance of the viewers so that the object being displayed always appears to stay in one place, no matter where you move. And besides all the hardware and software innovation that went into this holographic display, I’ve to give the researchers at the ITC Graphics Lab credit for going with the 1980’s wireframe TIE Fighter model which ensures their research and website will get plenty of free publicity. I’ve also included a video of the display in action after the jump.
This Programmable Sky product is awesome, but what I really want is to have it completely covering all six walls of a room with no windows (including the floor and ceiling) and have it hooked up to an Xbox or Wii. Can one of you get that set up and send a video? We’ll send […]
This Programmable Sky product is awesome, but what I really want is to have it completely covering all six walls of a room with no windows (including the floor and ceiling) and have it hooked up to an Xbox or Wii. Can one of you get that set up and send a video? We’ll send you a free TechCrunch tshirt, promise.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
By Luke Anderson Everyone knows that kooky friend or relative that thinks that the government (aliens, the mafia, etc) is out to get them. If the person you know also happens to be filthy rich, you might point them in the direction of the Quantum Sleeper, which promises to bring some comfort to even the most […]
By Luke Anderson
Everyone knows that kooky friend or relative that thinks that the government (aliens, the mafia, etc) is out to get them. If the person you know also happens to be filthy rich, you might point them in the direction of the Quantum Sleeper, which promises to bring some comfort to even the most paranoid of people.
This bed creeps me out to no end. I’m not usually the claustrophobic type, but something about this bed just screams “panic” when I think about actually sleeping in one. It has a slew of optional features including 1.25″ Polycarbonate Bulletproof Plating/Shielding, Bio-Chemical Filtered Ventilation, Toiletry System, a microwave and more.
I guess if you’re really paranoid than this might be useful, however, if I’m going to spend the money on something that elaborite, I’m just going to go for a fancy underground bomb shelter or something. Oh, and as for the price, if you’ve to ask you can’t afford it.
In a letter to shareholders that reminds me of the saying “why purchase the cow when you can get the milk for free,” Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yang explain why it selected a search deal with Google over Microsoft. For the record, we concur - given a choice between the Google […]
In a letter to shareholders that reminds me of the saying “why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free,” Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and CEO Jerry Yangexplain why it chose a search deal with Google over Microsoft.
For the record, we agree - given a choice between the Google and Microsoft search deals, Google’s was better, even with the steep fees if Yahoo chooses to sell itself to a competitor later. But the Microsoft deal would permanently hobble Yahoo, the cash flow upside wasn’t sweet enough.
But here’s what’s really going on: Yahoo doesn’t really want the Google deal, either, as evidenced by their effort to sell to Microsoft just before signing the deal two weeks ago. The deal was designed to get the stock market to chill out (it did the opposite), and to spur Microsoft back to the table to talk full buyout again.
There’s more going on here as well - this letter sends a new message to the market (as does the fact that Yahoo has not announced the reorganization yet). More on that in post coming up. But for now, a clear message is being sent to Microsoft: If they want Yahoo’s search milk, they’re going to have to purchase the cow.
Dear Fellow Stockholders:
We are writing to update you on the latest developments here at Yahoo!, including our recently announced commercial agreement with Google and the outcome of our discussions with Microsoft regarding a potential transaction.
On June 12, we announced a non-exclusive agreement with Google that we anticipate will generate approximately $250 to $450 million in incremental operating cash flow for Yahoo! in the first twelve months following implementation. This cash flow will enhance our profitability as well as help support accomplishment of our key strategic objectives. Combined with continuing advances in our own search ability, the agreement is an important step in our efforts to capitalize on the high-growth on the web advertising opportunities where we’re best positioned to compete successfully and create more value.
Let us explain why we find this new agreement so exciting.
The Yahoo!-Google Agreement is Financially Attractive and Strikes the Right Strategic Balance.
Under the agreement with Google, Yahoo! will continue to provide algorithmic and sponsored search results, but now will also have the capability to run sponsored search ads supplied by Google alongside Yahoo!’s search results. Advertisers will pay Google directly for each click on Google paid search results appearing on Yahoo!. Google will then pay us a fee (in industry jargon, traffic acquisition cost) based on revenue realized from click-throughs on ads supplied to Yahoo! by Google.
This carefully structured agreement strikes the right strategic balance, enhancing our financial results while advancing our strategic objectives of being the “starting point” for the most users on the World wide web and offering such compelling value that advertisers will see us as the “must buy” in on the web advertising.
One of our key strategies for achieving these objectives is to capitalize on the increasing convergence of search and display advertising, where we are especially well positioned to compete and succeed. We’ve already accelerated our efforts to strengthen our presence in display through a variety of initiatives and acquisitions in recent months. Our new commercial agreement with Google enhances our ability to pursue this strategy.
Another key strategy is to open our platform to other developers to optimize monetization for our advertisers and publishers and provide the ideal experience for our users. We see this agreement as a natural extension of the efforts we have already made toward an open marketplace.
The Google agreement is non-exclusive and provides strategic and operational flexibility for Yahoo!. It allows Yahoo! to use Google’s services in those areas where Google monetizes our inventory more effectively but also permits us to continue to use our own search technology in areas where we believe we’re most competitive. The net result is that the agreement helps us accelerate one of our strategic aims–closing the monetization gap. At the same time, it grants Yahoo! to continue to compete aggressively in search and display advertising.
Importantly, the agreement does not prevent Yahoo! from pursuing other alternatives that could increase stockholder value. Because the agreement can be terminated by either celebration upon a change in control, it would not preclude a transaction with Microsoft or any other potential acquiror in the future.
The Yahoo!-Google Agreement Does More for Stockholder Value than Microsoft’s Search-Only Hybrid Proposal.
We also want to update you on the conclusion to our discussions with Microsoft regarding a potential transaction. As we explained in our last letter, our board and management held numerous meetings and conversations with Microsoft about its proposal to acquire Yahoo!, both before and after Microsoft withdrew that proposal on Might 3. On June 8, our Chairman, Roy Bostock, other independent board members, and members of Yahoo!’s management team again met in person with Microsoft representatives. At that meeting, Microsoft said unequivocally that it has no interest in acquiring all of Yahoo!, even at the price range Microsoft had previously suggested.
Microsoft did propose an alternative transaction. Rather than acquire our whole company as it had been proposing for months, Microsoft now proposed to acquire only our search business for $1 billion and a share of future search advertising revenue. This proposal also included an $8 billion investment in Yahoo! but required Yahoo! to commit to a 10-year exclusive arrangement that would have made us dependent on Microsoft for all of our search business. It would also have given Microsoft veto rights on certain future Yahoo! actions, including a sale of Yahoo!. Our board of directors and management made a great effort–and conducted in depth negotiations–to elicit a feasible proposal from Microsoft that made strategic and financial sense for Yahoo!, but without success.
While Microsoft’s search-only hybrid proposal may have been helpful to Microsoft, our board and management concluded it would have had a significant adverse impact on Yahoo! strategically, leaving the Company without the operational control of search assets and technology we view as critical to our objective of becoming a leader in the converging search and display advertising business. The board and its advisers also carefully studied the financial impact of Microsoft’s proposal and concluded that it would have provided no meaningful improvement to our operating cash flow. In short, this proposal would have generated substantially less value for Yahoo! stockholders than Microsoft has suggested.
Based on all the key factors–strengthening our competitiveness, protecting our strategic position, generating attractive financial returns–the Google agreement is far superior than Microsoft’s search-only hybrid proposal. That’s why we moved forward with it.
Your Current Board of Directors Has the Knowledge, Experience and Commitment to Ideal Represent Your Interests and Maximize Stockholder Value.
The events of recent weeks underscore the fact that your board of directors is far superior qualified to represent your interests in the effort to maximize stockholder value than the slate put forward by Carl Icahn.
Based on Mr. Icahn’s narrow agenda, it seems highly unlikely that either he or his slate would bring added value to Yahoo!. Think about the following:
– Mr. Icahn put forward his slate so as to sell Yahoo! to Microsoft, although he had no knowledge of the sustained efforts made by your current board and management to determine whether Microsoft was willing to engage in a transaction that would provide appropriate value and certainty of achieving that value. On June 8, Microsoft once again made it perfectly clear that it isn’t currently interested in acquiring Yahoo!. — Mr. Icahn publicly opposed any substitute form of transaction with Microsoft. Your board and management, after thorough and deliberate negotiations and evaluation, separately concluded on its own that the substitute hybrid deal proposed by Microsoft was, indeed, not in the best interests of the Company or its stockholders. — Mr. Icahn urged, as an alternative to a Microsoft transaction, that Yahoo! find a way to partner with Google that would not preclude a transaction with Microsoft in the future. We’ve done exactly that through the commercial agreement with Google we announced on June 12.
Simply put, you can choose to vote for a slate of nominees with no articulated plan for the future of Yahoo!–and who now have essentially no substitute agenda to offer you–or you can select to vote for your existing board of directors which has the independence, experience, knowledge and commitment to navigate the Company through the rapidly-changing World wide web environment, execute on our strategic objectives and deliver value for Yahoo! and its stockholders.
It is time for Yahoo! to turn its undivided attention to implementing its key strategies, and we therefore urge you to reject Mr. Icahn’s slate and his ill-defined agenda.
We strongly urge you to vote your WHITE Proxy Card today for your current board of directors.
We look forward to sharing our progress with you as we move forward and we thank you for your support.
By Luke Anderson I’d be willing to bet that a good many of you’ve, at some point in your life, wanted your very own KITT from Knight Rider. Seriously, who wouldn’t want a bad ass Trans Am voiced by Mr. Feeny? Since there is no actual Knight Industries Two Thousand, you can at least subsitute […]
By Luke Anderson
I’d be willing to bet that a good many of you have, at some point in your life, wanted your very own KITT from Knight Rider. Seriously, who wouldn’t want a bad ass Trans Am voiced by Mr. Feeny? Since there’s no actual Knight Industries Two Thousand, you can at least subsitute with a cool automobile and one of these new Knight Rider GPS.
Mio has cooked up this special Knight Rider GPS which is essentially one of their Mio systems with a few fancy decorations to make it look like something you’d see in the show. The best part (and likely the selling point for most) is the fact that you’ll be given directions by William Daniels, otherwise known as KITT himself. When you turn it on you’ll even be greeted with his voice asking “Hello Michael. Where do you want to go this day?”. Look for this awesome GPS later this year for around $270.
Multiply, a media-heavy social network geared towards adults, has introduced a new backup system that will backup users’ videos and pics at full resolution. The premium service will cost users $20 per year for an unlimited amount of storage. As part of the new release, all users (even unpaid ones) will be given access to […]
Multiply, a media-heavy social network geared towards adults, has introduced a new backup system that’ll backup users’ videos and photos at full resolution. The premium service will cost users $20 per year for an unlimited amount of storage.
As part of the new release, all users (even unpaid ones) will be given access to Multiply’s new media upload application that’s based on Adobe’s AIR platform (you’ll be able to use it on Windows, Mac, and Linux). The application will monitor designated folders on a user’s personal, and will automatically upload new pics and video in the background as soon as they’re added.
These files will be housed in an on the internet “Media Locker”, from which users will be able to share and manipulate their media without having to wait for it to upload. Paid users will get to keep this media on the web in its original format indefinitely, while free users will see their content expire after 30 days, unless they share it in an album on the social network.
Given the amount of media that gets uploaded to social networks like Multiply, it’s not surprising that they’re trying to capitalize on it. But because it only backs up photos and video, it seems like a strange choice for a backup solution - users might be superior off going with all-purpose backup services like Mozy or Apple’s Time Machine. Then again, if users are going to be uploading their media anyway, it’s infinitely superior than nothing.
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
Evri, the site that uses semantic connections between terms to help users discover related information, has launched in private beta. You can register for an invite here. Evri founder Neil Roseman (former VP of Technology at Amazon) is quick to explain that it isn’t a search engine. Rather, it helps users […]
Evri, the site that uses semantic connections between terms to help users discover related information, has launched in private beta. You can register for an invite here.
Evri founder Neil Roseman (former VP of Technology at Amazon) is swift to explain that it is not a search engine. Rather, it helps users find related information by examining text to determine relationships between related terms. For example, a search for Barack Obama would likely yield a visual graph linking him to the Democratic Celebration, his wife, and other senators, along with a succinct summary of his background. Unlike the human-powered search engine Mahalo, Evri is powered by an algorithm.
The site made its debut appearance at last month’s D6 conference, which you can watch below:
Crunch Network: CrunchBoardbecause it’s time for you to find a new Job2.0
By Andrew Liszewski If you’ve already dropped $30,000 to add the X10 Automated Poker Table to your gaming room, you might as well try and get your hands on one of these MutliPlay Roulette tables as well. While it still features a conventional roulette wheel that’s operated by a dealer, the rest of the table, including […]
By Andrew Liszewski
If you’ve already dropped $30,000 to add the X10 Automated Poker Table to your gaming room, you might as well try and get your hands on one of these MutliPlay Roulette tables as well. While it still features a conventional roulette wheel that’s operated by a dealer, the rest of the table, including chips and financial transactions, is all operated by a massive 56 inch touch screen. In fact the touch screen has a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160, which makes me wonder if it isn’t one of Westinghouse’s quad HD displays that’s been upgraded with a touch interface. And talking of the interface, the MultiPlay Roulette table can accommodate up to 7 players at once thanks to a patent pending technology that allows it to tell the individual players apart as they interact with the touch screen.
Unfortunately though, it seems like you might not be able to purchase a MultiPlay table for your home since the company (TouchTable) is targeting them towards actual casinos as a more profitable alternative to traditional Roulette tables.
TouchTable MultiPlay Roulette provides a number of major advantages to the casino. The time to run a game cycle is lowered considerably - especially when many guests are playing at once - since the dealer does not have to handle payouts for every game. The consequence is significantly increased profits for the casino. Also the casino’s costly handling of chips is eliminated. The electronic handling of money minimizes the risk of dealer errors and cheating. Disputes are handled efficiently by easy access to the stored game histories.
But if you’d like the opportunity to try one out in person, TouchTable apparently started installing them in casinos in May of last year. So did anyone happen to see one the last time they were in Vegas?
UPDATE: Tickets sold out very swiftly. Additional tickets will be released in the coming weeks. There is not a wait list. Stay tuned. It’s time for my favorite event of the year - our (third) annual party/meetup at August Capital in Silcon Valley. Come join us and hundreds of other techies at August […]
UPDATE: Tickets sold out very quickly. Additional tickets will be released in the coming weeks. There is not a wait list. Stay tuned.
It’s time for my favorite event of the year - our (third) annual party/meetup at August Capital in Silcon Valley. Come join us and hundreds of other techies at August Capital’s fabulous outdoor patio on Friday, July 25, 2008, in Menlo Park, California.
Photos from last year’s event are on Flickr, and see our wrap-up posts from the first and second events as well.
We have branded sponsorship opportunities and demo stations for companies to show off their products. We love creative sponsorships—last year, sponsored margaritas, the photo wall, movie shorts and product giveaways were all a hit with attendees. If you are interested in supporting the event, please contact Jeanne Logozzo or Heather Harde. If you are a member of the press wanting to cover the event, please contact Sarah Ross.
The August Capital event is one of our most popular events attended by decision makers, the venture community and dozens of members of the media.
Since we’ve limited capacity for attendees, we’re asking a $10 cover charge to help manage the attendee list and minimize no-shows. We will be donating 100% of the ticket proceeds to Malaria No More, an inclusive, grassroots movement to control malaria, a preventable and treatable disease that kills more than one million people each year. $10 happens to exactly cover the cost of a single bed net that will protect a child from Malaria, by the way. Tickets are available via EventBrite.
Attendee identification will be checked at the door. Due to the strong demand for tickets, we regret tickets are not transferable and not refundable. If you use your name to purchase multiple tickets, your guests must arrive with you to check in at the door.
Crunch Network: CrunchGeardrool over the sexiest new gadgets and hardware.
The August Capital event is one of our most popular events attended by decision makers, the venture community and dozens of members of the media.
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