September 2, 2009
Marvel's next super hit; Aloqa and white lies
What am I Missy Episode 33 - Disney and Marvel; Aloqa's mobile discovery; Smule's contest
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Smule, the creators of iPhone applications like Ocarina, has a cool "Feel the Love" contest running. Users who have Leaf Trombone can register to win $500 at https://www.smule.com/. You just need to sign-up, and get as much love from your friends as possible. They can listen to your registered performance, and send you love using Leaf Trombone or Leaf Trombone Lite- which is free! Whoever gets the most love wins!
Walt Disney can now add Spiderman to its lineup of classic characters. The Mouse House just snapped up Marvel Comics for $4 billion dollars. The deal gives Disney five thousand Marvel characters, like Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. And Marvel, gives Disney access to the demographic of young males, a contrast to Disney's female demographics following Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers. The question is, which Marvel hero will Disney raise up to be the next blockbuster hit? We asked the experts.
Disney buys Marvel Comics for $4 billion
What's the killer application on the mobile phone? It's not voice, not a text, and not even a virtual assistant. It is your very own discovery engine which lets you know who's around and what is around. Aloqa is a new service that provides such recommendations and knowledge of which friends are nearby. Aloqa's CEO Sanjeev Agrawal told Bambi Francisco in a recent interview that Aloqa knows that to recommend, mostly based on a user's input of preferences and Facebook friends. It's sounds like a great service. But what happens to all those white lies people often make?
Aloqa - a new mobile recommendation engine
Related Companies, Investors, and Entrepreneurs
Aloqa
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Aloqa has solved two problems for mobile users: it takes away the need to type search terms into browsers or other mobile applications to find something, and also proactively recommends interesting local opportunities to users on the go. Wherever they are, users can simply glance at their phones and see which friends, favorite businesses, events like music concerts, local offers and other interesting places are close by, without having to launch a browser or search application. Aloqa takes into account the user’s location, preferences and social relationships to make these recommendations in real time.
“Aloqa makes mobile phones a lot more useful. As a user, it’s painful launching browsers and typing or speaking into apps. And even if doing searches becomes easier on mobile, it still doesn’t solve a bigger issue – every day all of us miss out on all kinds of opportunities we aren’t even aware of such as discovering friends who happen to be close by, or that there are concerts happening locally that we’d like, or sales and bargains all around us. Aloqa solves both the search and discovery issues by utilizing a user’s context – their location, time, preferences, and relationships – to notify them in real time of friends, places, events, and entertainment opportunities around them without delays” said Sanjeev Agrawal, CEO of Aloqa.
About Aloqa
Aloqa is the first company to provide mobile users with context relevant alerts and notifications. Based on their location, preferences and social relationships, Aloqa users see what’s close to them without having to type anything into a browser or search application: their favorite businesses and points of interest, deals / coupons nearby, music performances and events, and Facebook friends in proximity. As they move, Aloqa refreshes automatically, so users never miss a social opportunity, event, or bargain.
PLEASE NOTE: On July 16, Aloqa (www.aloqa.com) announced that it closed $1.5 million in series-A funding and opened a beta of its context-aware mobile application on Android handsets. Aloqa was also selected to demonstrate its application on stage at the MobileBeat Conference, hosted by VentureBeat in San Francisco, and was chosen as a "Winner of Tesla Award" -- The people's choice award at mobilebeat.
Aloqa has also received some glowing coverage and comments in TechCrunch, ReadWriteWeb, AndroidGuys and others. Seel:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/mobile_search_gets_a_push_aloqas_location-aware_app.php
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/16/former-googler-sanjeev-agrawal-to-lead-just-funded-mobile-search-startup-aloqa/
http://androidguys.com/?p=6023
Smule
Startup/Business
Joined Vator on
Smule develops interactive sonic applications for the iPhone and other technology platforms. Smule is developing the new sonic network, connecting users across the globe through expressive audio. Smule's Ocarina, I Am T-Pain, and Leaf Trombone have set the standard for iPhone applications, combining innovative uses of the hardware with compelling social experiences.
Sanjeev Agrawal
Joined Vator on
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