Based on what I saw, here are my favorite startups from the demos, in no particular order:

Fitocracy

Out of all the personal fitness apps out there, Fitocracy could be the one that makes the most impact in actually getting its users in shape. The application, which so far gas only been available in a private beta, already has 230,000 registered users. And those users are pretty engaged, with about 79 percent checking in every day and spending an average of 9 minutes per session with Fitocracy. It’s done that by adding gamification to the fitness process — getting users to level up, complete quests and unlock achievements as part of what founder Brian Wang calls a real-life RPG. But the amazing part about those stats are that they’re from Fitocracy’s web-based app; an iPhone app is in the works but has yet to be released. One it is, I expect a lot more users to catch on and start using Fitocracy to track and improve their fitness.

Contactually

“CRMs are an billion industry,” Contactually’s founder told the crowd at 500 Startups’ demo day. “But all CRMs suck.” You have to fill in information in forms and once they’re there, the information is difficult to extract and doesn’t actually help users manage their relationships. Contactually has a better way: it uses email — which is the common touch point for more or less all contact between human beings nowadays — and automatically helps determine which contacts are most important to manage. More importantly, it actually prompts users to do something with that info, urging them to follow up to important emails and contacts. But just because it gives a better way to manage contacts doesn’t mean it’s going to completely replace your CRM — it’ll also integrate with that CRM.

PayByGroup

Have you ever tried to book a trip with your friends, only to have a few of them lame out at the last minute, sticking you with the tab? Then PayByGroup is for you. The idea is to add a button to sites like Airbnb, Stubhub and the like that allows users to click a button to reserve an expensive hotel suite, a group of concert tickets, or a beach house and then invite other friends in a group to pay for their own share of that trip, vacation or event.

Switchcam

I’ve actually written about Switchcam before, back in a previous life when it was called Veokami. The startup is still focused on aggregating multiple user-submitted videos from the same event on public sites like YouTube and Vimeo and reconstruct that event with a timeline that allows users to switch from multiple angles. With a design refresh and a new brand, Switchcam has made a huge step forward. The startup hopes to make money by providing a white-label platform for performers and agents to provide user-created events on their own sites. Until now, Switchcam events have mostly been centered around music and concerts, but it sees an opportunity for sports and news, and even personal events like weddings and graduations.

Hapyrus

Hapyrus is looking to cash in on the big data craze by making it easier for enterprises to process and analyze that data more efficiently. According to co-founder Kentaro Suzuki, much of the inefficiency comes between engineers and data analysts who are tasked with making sense of big data. Because analysts are beholden to engineers to structure that data, engineers end up doing a disproportionate amount of the work. Hapyrus seeks to simplify things by enabling engineers to configure the software, freeing up analysts to run analysis whenever they want and quickly change parameters and needed.

And some honorable mentions:

Love With Food – I have a soft spot for subscription services like Birchbox, and Love with Food is a subscription service that delivers curated food samples to users and then allows them to purchase full-sized samples from its site. There’s a side benefit in that for each box delivered, the startup also donates a meal to No Kid Hungry.

MoPix – Honestly I might just like it because Mopix told attendees to use the hashtag #DVDisDead. But the startup is helping to enable independent studios and video publishers to reach audiences through digital distribution on new devices like the iPad. And that’s a really cool thing.

Brandboards – Brandboards is trying to make it easier for sports teams and stadium owners to simplify advertising across all the screens that are available throughout sports arenas. Teams like the Dallas Cowboys have thousands of displays throughout their stadiums and a captive audience, but inefficiencies in the sales process means about 30 percent of that inventory goes unsold. This startup is looking to change that.

Tiny Review – Like the bastard love child of Yelp and Instagram and Twitter, Tiny Review encourages users to mix photos along with three lines of text. And like Twitter, the inherent limitations cause users to be more creative with those reviews. As a consumer-facing startup, it’s a little bit of an outlier compared to the rest of the companies introduced, but that could be what makes it interesting.

72lux – 72lux aims to improve online advertising on sites by enabling e-commerce in publisher webpages. Instead of offering advertising alongside photo spreads that sends readers to outside sites, its technology allows publishers to make content shoppable right there. The startup is already pretty successful, with million in its sales pipeline, and it’s working with top brands and fashion mags.

There were plenty of other cool startups introduced today, and these are merely a sampling of those I think are interesting.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

• Forecast: the future of the digital music industry
• Q4 Wrap-up: SOPA and the future of digital content
• NewNet Q4: Platform mania and social commerce shakeout

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOM

If you’re looking for some exergaming action, but don’t have the rhythm — or lack of self awareness — for some existing sport game accesories, how about a game controlled by effort? Using your iDevice’s camera and accelerometer, BitGym has created a control system for playing iOS games while on your exercise equipment of choice (possibly not the trampoline though). The first release is a racer that converts rate of exercise to acceleration and head movement to steering. We’re told there’s an SDK too, so developers looking to trim-up can make their own gym-distractions. Fitness Freeway is available now, but if you want to see it in action, without breaking a sweat jog on over the break for a demo video.

Continue reading Face and ‘effort’ controlled iPad game helps you outrun the competition (video)

Face and ‘effort’ controlled iPad game helps you outrun the competition (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Jan 2012 06:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Wired Top Stories

Siri hasn’t been caught cooking dinner yet, but hackers worldwide have boldly taken Apple’s personal assistant to a whole new level by incorporating its functionality with a plethora of different devices. We’ve seen Siri use custom commands, change the temperature in your house, and even allow select car owners to utilize their automobile’s Bluetooth integration. Nifty, no doubt, but this assistant’s evolution towards greater heights isn’t over yet. Vimeo user toddtreece has whipped up a slick demo of the iPhone 4S’ right hand gal (or guy) taking command of his television set. From changing channels to turning off devices, with the help of a proxy and a few parts, you can get your own home setup running on voice activation. Feeling a bit guilty for your sudden interest in slothfulness? Fret not — Siri’s apparently quite good at calling you out. Have a look just after the break.

[Thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead

Too lazy to grab your TV remote? Use Siri instead originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  toddtreece (Vimeo)  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

The world’s largest industrial robot manufacturer, Yaskawa Electric, wants to invade your grandmother’s home. Alright, maybe invade isn’t the word we’re looking for, but if your Grams is anything like ours she probably wouldn’t be happy about you dropping off a robot helper (she can take care of herself, don’t you know). The SmartPal VII is a telepresence bot that can be controlled remotely using a Kinect. (Seriously, what can’t Microsoft’s gaming controller do?) The head-mounted stereoscopic cameras and infrared sensor enable it to navigate a room autonomously, while the light-weight arms equipped with touch sensors make it safer for human interaction. The demo of the bot picking up toys and putting them in a bin isn’t the most exciting in the world, but it does show just how much control an operator has using simple hand gestures. Check out the video after the break.

Continue reading Yaskawa Electric’s SmartPal VII lets you clean up grandma’s house using Kinect (video)

Yaskawa Electric’s SmartPal VII lets you clean up grandma’s house using Kinect (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Nov 2011 22:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  DigInfo  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Now that Ice Cream Sandwich is real, the inevitable next step is a parade of announcement that certain devices will / won’t experience the latest and greatest flavor of Android. Xoom owners can breathe easy however, as a support forum mod (totally reliable source) confirms Moto will issue an update for its family-friendly tablet, but can’t say when we’ll see it. Feel free to check out our emulator-powered Android 4.0 tablet demo until then, but considering how long it took to slide LTE into those slabs, you should probably grab a Snickers.

Motorola Xoom will get updated with Ice Cream Sandwich, but when? originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 22 Oct 2011 20:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Techno Buffalo, Phandroid  |  Motorola support forums  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Far from sneaking in to the living room, Vestel had a BitTorrent Certified television on display at IFA 2011 this past week. That official stamp means it packs the usual suite of connected TV features including playing local media across the network, and it’s guaranteed to work with BitTorrent approved files from the internet. There’s no word on any official release for this prototype — and we haven’t been able to locate anyone who got a hands-on demo, let us know if you saw it — but it definitely shows how BitTorrent is trying to expand its platform in a manner similar to DivX and XBMC / Boxee. Check out the press release after the break, we’ll be sitting back and watching some totally legal content we just torrented.

Continue reading Vestel shows off a prototype BitTorrent Certified TV at IFA

Vestel shows off a prototype BitTorrent Certified TV at IFA originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 05 Sep 2011 10:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Continue reading Zinio brings Tegra hardware acceleration to Honeycomb tablets

Zinio brings Tegra hardware acceleration to Honeycomb tablets originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Nvidia Blog  |  Android Market  | Email this | Comments
Engadget

Continue reading PhotoFast i-FlashDrive does USB on one end, 30-pin dock connector on the other

PhotoFast i-FlashDrive does USB on one end, 30-pin dock connector on the other originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Jun 2011 09:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments
Engadget

The way it works is that people who have a car they want to share can make them available by setting the price per hour or day for their car when they’re not planning on using it. People who need a car are able to sign-up for the vehicle, though the owner has the final say in who can rent their car. When a rental is confirmed, a user gets a key on the Getaround iPhone app to unlock the car.

Getting access to cars is provided through a remote car kit that an owner installs easily in their car. A renter then uses the iPhone app to unlock the car when they arrive. The key is then presumably left inside. Renters insurance is handled by Berkshire Hathaway, which provides liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage that supersedes the policies of both owners and renters during the rental period. That answers one of the big questions that people have about these kinds of services. Getaround’s founder Sam Zaid said the service uses a reputation management system with review and ratings so owners and renters can get a sense of who they’re dealing with. The start-up makes money by taking a 40 percent cut of each transaction.

I still have my questions about what exactly happens in the event of an accident and what the potential danger is for abuse or theft by bad users or criminal. It’ll be interesting to see how many people are attracted to a service like this.

But I like the idea of letting people easily access available cars helping them avoid having to put more vehicles on the road. Zaid said there are 250 million cars in the U.S. that sit idle 22 hours a day. Sharing one million cars can help take some ten million vehicles off the road, Zaid said. And it’s a nice way for someone to make some side cash by putting their vehicle to work. Frost and Sullivan said owners can earn an average of ,000 a year while renters can save more than ,800 per year by using a car sharing service.

While Zipcar has found success despite an sign-up fee Getaround could be a much more capital efficient version of Zipcar, given Zipcar actually has to own and maintain its fleet. Zipcar still isn’t profitable after about a decade in existence and rental car companies are still questioning how deeply they want to get into the capital intensive ride sharing business.

Zipcar, of course, isn’t a peer-to-peer system. Getaround, which is free to sign-up, really builds off a community of people that want to share, which catching on with people. It’s been finding strong success in a beta in the San Francisco area with 240 owners and about 1,500 renters so far. Another start-up RelayRides is also trying a similar approach in Boston and San Francisco, as is Spride Share, a startup founded and launched by investor Sunil Paul.

I would love to see these types of services take off. It’s a smart way to help get better use out of our resources and help the environment. It will still take some work to get users acclimated to the idea of sharing their cars. But more and more, we’re seeing people are receptive to the idea that sharing is not just good for kids, it can be good for adults too.

Related content from GigaOM Pro (subscription req’d):

• Green IT Q1: Cleantech Breaking Out — and Bracing for Hard Times
• Green IT’s Q4 Winners: Wind Power, Solar Power, Smart Energy
• Green IT Overview, Q2 2010

alt=''
border='0'
/>

GigaOMGigaOM · Tech News, Analysis and Trends