Here’s how you can stop jumping back and forth between Google’s calendar and map apps

 Logistics are difficult, especially when every day you’re trying to keep track of 9 meetings, 13 phone calls, a dinner, a post dinner, and a post post dinner. In a new update, Google has decided to do its part to make daily logistics easier by more fully integrating its Maps and Calendar offerings for Android users worldwide. Now, when you open up Google Maps, you’ll be able to… Read More

Facebook “Messenger Day” is the chat app’s new Snapchat Stories clone

 Facebook is stealing the Stories format and invading countries where Snapchat isn’t popular yet. Today in Poland it launched “Messenger Day”, which lets people share illustrated filter-enhanced photos and videos that disappear in 24 hours, just like on Snapchat. By using the international popularity of Messenger to spread the Stories format, Facebook could boost retention… Read More

Avast CEO on why it’s just spent $1.4BN to absorb security rival AVG

 Security firm Avast has today confirmed the completion of a $1.4 billion acquisition of fellow Czech-based antivirus company AVG. The deal will see Avast’s customer base nearly double — swelling from 230 million to more than 400 million in total, 160M of whom are mobile users. Read More

Shazam is finally profitable after a billion downloads

 Shazam, the mobile and desktop app that acts as a digital ear and song identifier, crossed the 1 billion download mark recently, according to a report from Billboard on Thursday. The London-based company, Shazam Entertainment Ltd., also announced that it has achieved profitability, at long last, thanks to a new focus on advertising sales, alongside revenue from commissions on digital… Read More

Spotify could out-dance Apple if it does acquire SoundCloud

 SoundCloud as a company is a disaster, but its the only streaming service with the DJ sets and remixes kids love. So it makes perfect sense that Spotify is in advanced talks to acquire SoundCloud, the Financial Times reports. Spotify already declined to buy it twice over the past year and a half, but talks broke down over pricing. But since then, SoundCloud has hammered out deals with the… Read More

MightyTV’s Tinder-style TV recommendation app comes to Android

 MightyTV, an app that helps you figure out what to watch next, is now available on Android. The startup is led by AdMeld co-founder Brian Adams, and it presents users with a stack of movie and TV recommendations which you swipe through, Tinder-style. If you’ve seen something already, you can say whether or not you liked it, which will influence the recommendations you see next. If you… Read More

Beyoncé becomes a tech startup investor

 Joining celebrity investors like Snoop Dogg, Ashton Kutcher, and Justin Bieber, Queen Bey is bringing her supreme business skills to the tech world. Beyoncé and the management company she started called Parkwood Entertainment have invested $150,000 into Sidestep, an app for buying concert merchandise and skipping the line to pick it up at the show. Sidestep originally started selling… Read More

The Sense bedside sleep tracker maker hires a CMO from DoorDash

 Hello, the makers of the Sense sleep tracker, has hired Angela Chang, a former marketing lead for Nest and who was most-recently head of marketing at DoorDash, as its chief marketing officer. Her hire comes at a time when the company is making an aggressive push to get into larger retailers — most recently Best Buy and Target — and get the device and brand in front of as many… Read More

Luna Launcher turns your Android phone into a kid-friendly device

 On the fence about whether your child is old enough for their own smartphone? A new app called Luna Launcher can help you warm to the idea, by offering a simple way to limit access to select apps and actions, including who they can call or text – a list you can restrict to family members, for example. Of course, because of the way it needs to interact with your phone’s… Read More

CodeSpark raises $4.1 million for games that teach kids how to code

 A Los Angeles startup called codeSpark has raised $4.1 million in seed funding for web and mobile games that teach kids how to code, even before they know how to read and write effectively. CodeSpark’s games were developed for kids 4 to 9 years old, and with a goal of not just teaching them STEM concepts, but engaging boys and girls equally well. The games feature characters who are… Read More

Free stock trade app Robinhood monetizes with $10/month to buy on credit

 Robinhood says it will never charge commissions to trade stocks, but the $66 million-funded startup is finally ramping up monetization with the launch of “Robinhood Gold” premium features. For $10 per month, users can skip the three-day waiting period with instant deposits and reinvesting, trade 30 minutes before and 2 hours after the market is open, and borrow up to double the… Read More

Grow launches its app for socially responsible investing

 Amid an increasing number robo-investors like Betterment, Stash, and Robinhood, a new San Francisco-based fintech startup called Grow is entering the fray to compete based on investment type, not only financial returns. While the app operates much like its rivals in terms of making it easier for novice investors quickly build their portfolios, its biggest differentiator is that it focuses… Read More

Simple rolls out shared bank accounts that work for anyone, including roommates

 Online banking service Simple is today rolling out a new product: shared accounts. However, unlike joint checking accounts typically shared by spouses, Simple’s shared accounts work differently. They allow customers to maintain their own accounts, but quickly fund then switch over to shared accounts to collaborate with each other on financial planning by tracking shared expenses,… Read More