Fusion Garage Seeks Dismissal of CrunchPad Lawsuit

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Los Angeles
– Fusion Garage, the Singapore-based development partner of TechCrunch blogger
Michael Arrington in his "CrunchPad" tablet PC venture, has filed a
motion to dismiss Arrington’s lawsuit over the severing of their business relationship,
according to published reports.

When Fusion Garage told Arrington it planned to
release the CrunchPad itself under the name JooJoo, and sever their relationship,
Arrington responded by filing a lawsuit that alleged fraud and deceit,
misappropriation of business ideas, breach of fiduciary duty and unfair
competition.

Last week, Fusion Garage filed a motion to dismiss Arrington’s
lawsuit.

Fusion Garage CEO Chandrasekar "Chandra" Rathakrishnan told
VentureBeat that the JooJoo will be released by the end of February, adding
that "pre-orders have exceeded our expectations."

Chandra also told
VentureBeat that Fusion Garage has raised $3 million so far, but plans to
announce a new round of funding shortly.

He added that the company is currently awaiting
final approval of a deal with a manufacturer in Southeast
Asia, which will produce the devices with Fusion Garage receiving
a royalty on every JooJoo sold.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9k3p
(The Register)

http://venturebeat.com/2010/02/01/joojoo-crunchpad-tablet/

http://snipurl.com/u9k3v
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.techcrunch.com

http://www.fusiongarage.com

https://thejoojoo.com

AOL Posts $1.4M Profit in First Earnings Report Since Spin-off

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– In its first quarterly filing since splitting with former parent Time Warner (NYSE: TWX),
AOL (NYSE: AOL) on Wednesday posted a fourth-quarter profit of $1.4 million.

That’s up from
a loss of $1.96 billion in the same quarter a year ago, when the company took a
$2.2 billion charge, and also took into account $107 million in restructuring
costs.

The news, however, wasn’t all good for the company, which continued to
hemorrhage dial-up Internet subscribers and also saw its ad revenue slip 8%.

All told, revenue fell 17% to $809.7 million.

"We have made significant
progress in support of the long-term vision we see in the future of AOL, but
today’s results continue to reflect the need for our focus and execution on the
work required in the turnaround of the company," said Tim Armstrong, AOL’s
chairman and CEO.

AOL officially spun off from Time Warner on Dec. 10.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9k0q

http://www.aol.com

College Lecture Podcast Firm Echo360 Raises Funds

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Dulles, Va. – Echo360, a provider of Internet audio and
video technology used by universities, has raised $6.8 million in an extension
of its second round of funding, which initially closed in Oct. 2008, according
to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Court Square
Ventures led the round, with SCP Partners and SoftBank Capital also
participating.

The company raised a total of $21.8 million in the round,
announcing the first $15 million in late 2008.

Echo360’s main offering helps
universities record and replay lectures from professors through podcasts, video
and rich media.

The technology was developed in partnership with the University of Western Australia.

The company initially
was born as a subsidiary of Anystream, and in 2007 acquired Lectopia, a company
providing lecture capture services in Australia
and New Zealand.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9jzv

http://www.echo360.com

Report: Global Video Game Sales Down 8% in 2009

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Sales of video
game software were down 8% in 2009 across the key U.S.,
U.K.
and Japanese markets, according to combined data from market research firms NPD
Group, GfK Chart-Track and Enterbrain. Video game software unit sales fell 2%
in Japan in 2009, 7% in the U.S. and 14% in the U.K. The firms cited the recession,
and the shrinking PlayStation 2 game software market, which declined by 57%
across the top global markets in 2009.

"While year-over-year comparisons
show declines, the industry is still boasting significant volumes that were
unseen before 2008," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier.

"The
year-end data from 2009 shows us that the number of titles entering the market
is still growing with 778 new titles released in 2009, up from the 764 in 2008."

Activision’s "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2" was the top-selling
game of 2009 across the three territories, with 11.86 million in unit sales.

Nintendo
claimed all four of the remaining spots in the top five, with its "Wii
Sports Resort" (7.57 million); "New Super Mario Bros. Wii" (7.41
million); "Wii Fit Plus" (5.8 million); and "Wii Fit" (5.44
million).

 

Related Links:
http://www.npd.com

http://www.chart-track.co.uk

http://www.enterbrain.co.jp

Twitter Scam Sought User Passwords via Torrent Sites

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– Twitter has disclosed a plot to gain access to some of its users’ passwords
and accounts, using fake BitTorrent file-sharing sites and forums, The Wall
Street Journal reported.

An unidentified person has reportedly been using the
scam for "a number of years," according to Twitter, which maintained
that the number of people affected is "very small."

This person
"waited for the forums and sites to get popular and then used those
exploits to get access to the username, email address, and password of every
person who had signed up," the company said in a note to developers, which
also included a recommendation that users change their passwords.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9jhr
(WSJ)

http://status.twitter.com/post/367671822/reason-4132-for-changing-your-password

Movie Gallery

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Movie Gallery Files for Bankruptcy; Will Close 760 Stores

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Wilsonville, Ore. – Movie Gallery, the operator of some 1,900 movie
and video game rental stores in the U.S., announced on Wednesday that it has
filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protections, and will immediately liquidate and
close 760 of its locations. Oregon-based Movie Gallery "cited the economic
and competitive realities facing its business" in the Ch. 11 filing,
recounting how its closure of several hundred underperforming stores over the
past two years was insufficient.

The company stated that it will continue to
operate during the bankruptcy proceedings, and aims "to emerge from the restructuring
process with a new and sustainable business model centered on a smaller base of
profitable stores."

Following the closures, Movie Gallery will operate 1,111
Movie Gallery, 545 Hollywood Video and 250
Game Crazy locations — although it said it "anticipates closing
additional stores during the Chapter 11 process."

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9j75

http://www.moviegallery.com

Russian Casual Games Firm Alawar Secures $3 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– Alawar Entertainment, a Russia-based casual games publisher, has received a
$3 million equity investment from Almaz Capital Russia Fund, which will hold a
23% stake in the company, PaidContent reported.

Alawar, whose titles include
"Tales of Montezuma" and "Farm Frenzy," claims to account
for 70% of the Russian casual games market.

The company will use the funds to
expand its operations and international distribution.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/u9j2n
(PaidContent)

http://www.almazcapital.com

http://www.alawar.com

Yammer Gets $10 Million for Enterprise Microblogging

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– Yammer, the developer of a microblogging service for businesses, has raised
$10 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Emergence
Capital.

Other investors in the round included Ron Conway, and previous backers
Charles River Ventures and Goldcrest Investments.

Launched in 2008, San
Francisco-based Yammer says its internal microblogging service is now being
used by more than 60,000 organizations.

Both free and premium versions are offered
by Yammer, which said it will use the new funds to accelerate product
innovation and increase sales coverage.

 

Related Links:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/02/prweb3553664.htm

http://www.yammer.com

Online Video Ad Network BrightRoll Raises $10 Million

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco
– BrightRoll, an online video advertising network, announced on Wednesday that
it has raised $10 million in third round financing, led by Scale Venture
Partners.

Previous backers True Ventures, Adams Street Capital and KPG Ventures
also participated.

San Francisco-based BrightRoll says that three-quarters of
the top 100 online media properties in the U.S. use its services.

The company
also announced that it has been profitable for "nearly the entire last 12
months," and that its network recently passed Hulu in the number of unique
users per month it reaches.

BrightRoll will use the new funds to expand its
technology platform, and worldwide advertiser and publisher operations.

 

Related Links:
http://www.brightroll.com/2010/02/02/brightroll-funding/

http://snipurl.com/u9it7

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