Technology

Today at CTIA 2013, Verizon announced an exclusive partnership with Jennifer Lopez to create a mobile company catered to the Latino market. Called Viva Movil, the new entity will be headed by Lopez and boasts Big Red, Brightstar and Moorehead Communications as partners. The idea behind this venture is to offer an enriched customer retail experience with specialized stores that feature device demos, dedicated play areas for children, bilingual staff and online options will be available on the company's site, which went live today. Since Verizon is the exclusive wireless partner, it's a safe bet that we'll see devices that are branded to the carrier, albeit with a different marketing approach. As majority stakeholder and "kind of the Chief Creative Officer," J Lo has a large amount of interest in the company's success; in fact, the A-list celeb is sweetening the launch with her own exclusive line of smartphone accessories. The first store is slated to open mid-June, with more coming before the end of the year in other densely-populated Latino areas. Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Verizon Comments

CNBC‘s Herb Greenberg a short while ago led a discussion with Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov, who has a Hold rating on shares of solar energy technology provider Solar City (SCTY), and who today issued some negative remarks about the stock to clients. Molchanov had nice things to say about the company, whose board is [...]

This article was written by Elana Varon, and a version of it originally appeared on the Adobe-owned site CMO.com. For more information about BrandSpeak, click here. Agile management methods, experts say, provide a framework for making better decisions and improving overall productivity. "One focus of agility is understanding the relative value of the initiatives you want to work on and prioritizing them," said Barre Hardy, senior director with marketing consultancy CMG Partners. "A lot of companies are not great at doing that today." But there's potential for big improvements to how CMOs manage marketing initiatives, if the results from software development, where the methodology originated, are any guide. A survey by VersionOne of IT organizations that use agile methods found 90% of respondents improved their ability to manage changing priorities, 85% increased productivity, and 84% improved project visibility as well as team morale. (VersionOne sells tools used for agile software development.) Read more...More about Marketing, Business, Brandspeak, and 30 Days Of Buzzwords

The sitcom, which is likely to have additional episodes produced, has Mr. Crystal playing a once-great comic who tries to revive his career.

Verizon HTC One Remains MIA is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.The Verizon HTC One, which reportedly was going to make an appearance at Verizon’s event at CTIA 2013 in Las Vegas, remains missing in action as the carrier failed to show off the device on stage, leaving its arrival up in the air. In the buildup to today’s Verizon announcement at CTIA, the eyes of both the media and consumers were squarely focused on the Verizon HTC One rumors that have cropped up many times over the past few months. Earlier today, a report claimed that the long-awaited device would finally make an appearance on stage, just a day before the Samsung Galaxy S4 release on Verizon. Turns out, that information was erroneous. The Verizon HTC One remains MIA. Instead, Verizon took to the stage to announce a partnership with Viva Movil, going as far as to bring out Jennifer Lopez on stage to promote the new Latino-centric wireless service. The HTC One, which was thought to possibly be part of the show, failed to make a showing. This of course means that the arrival of the Verizon HTC One is now up in the air. With no other media engagements in sight and the HTC Butterfly 2 rumored to be on the way, a device that could be the Droid DNA 2, we’re back to square one. @verizon Viva Movil? More Viva Goodbye Verizon customers wanting the HTC One. — Daniel Grabowski (@DG4FREE) May 22, 2013 The only string of hope that consumers have is that noted HTC insider @LLabTooFeR has expressed that the device is still in the pipeline and that it’s coming out in the near future. Just how long remains unclear though. At this point, Verizon may instead opt to carry the HTC Butterfly 2, a device that would be a true successor to its current HTC flagship, the Droid DNA. I was rick rolled by Verizon today. Wow. No HTC One??!!?? — Rion (@rion_j) May 22, 2013 If the reactions from consumers are of any indication, Verizon may have a small window to launch this phone. With the Samsung Galaxy S4 now on shelves, the iPhone 5S and the Samsung Galaxy S4 Nexus on the way and an assortment of other HTC One options available, consumers are likely to be exploring their options. Verizon..J lo? Really? I don’t like HTC that much but I’d much rather had you announce the ONE. #Verizonfail — Dori|iF£ (@Dorilife) May 22, 2013 The Verizon HTC remains a complete mystery at this point though, but its non-arrival today should not be a surprise. Typically, we see devices leak out ahead of their launch, particularly on Verizon, so when and if a launch does take place, expect to see the device ahead of schedule. Whether a Verizon HTC One is on Verizon’s schedule though is now up for debate.Verizon HTC One Remains MIA is a post by Adam Mills from Gotta Be Mobile.

Earlier this month, Abercrombie & Fitch caught heat for comments its CEO made in the past about the company’s marketing strategy. Mike Jefferies was quoted in a new book, saying that Abercrombie & Fitch markets to “cool and popular kids” and “good-looking people,” which is why its stores do not stock extra-large female clothing. The comments sparked a backlash online that reached evening news programs and even actress Kirstie Alley. A campaign to counter Abercrombie & Fitch’s message has also begun, with activists urged to clothe the homeless in Abercrimbie & Fitch clothing. Now, Abercrombie & Fitch is facing legal trouble over the layout of its stores. According to an Associated Press report, a federal judge in Denver, Colorado has ruled that Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister stores are “unfriendly” to disabled persons. Abercrombie & Fitch is the parent company of Hollister. The judge is now considering an injunction against the company. The lawsuit was filed by disabled Colorado consumers who claim to have had trouble getting into the stores through side doors and have complained that countertops in the stores are too high. The lawyer representing the disabled in the court case compared the use of side doors, rather than some type of access to the stores’ main entrance, with racial segregation. Lawyers for Abercrombie & Fitch have called this comparison “inflammatory” and have stated that the stores were constructed to standards in place at the time they were built.

Police shot two assailants Wednesday in a southeastern London neighborhood after they allegedly murdered a person in public with a machete. The victim is believed to be a solider from a nearby barracks, and the British government is treating the event as a terrorist attack. One bystander apparently live-tweeted the entire horrific event from start to finish. While Mashable hasn't yet confirmed the following account is legitimate, the timing of the tweets matches up with the timeline of the attack. This Twitter user was also recently located in the neighborhood of the attack, according to geolocation data. Read more...More about Terrorism, Crime, London, United Kingdom, and Us World

The Startup Battlefield competition at our Disrupt events is like a mini startup school. The dozens of chosen startups that go through the Battlefield training process end up with solid presentation skills, hard-earned pitching prowess and newfound courage. And also, lots of public visibility, which is great for getting users, hiring top employees and luring clients and investors. The Battlefield has gone so well that our current staff has been getting overwhelmed by the record number of applications. We need help, so we’re creating a new position called the Battlefield Editor. We’re looking for a bright, talented person to help manage the entire process, from bringing in applicants to picking the 30 finalists and getting them ready for the Disrupt stages in San Francisco, New York and this year’s addition, Berlin. In this position, you’ll also get to give out a huge trophy and a big cardboard check for $50,000 to one lucky startup, as they debut to the media and the investor world. Battlefield winners and finalists have included huge success stories like Mint and Yammer among others. Are you already in the Startup Whisperer role at a popular accelerator and think you can take your show on the road? Read TC every day, just finished your MBA and want a more meaningful job than McKinsey? Can you find the Next Big Thing?  Send your resume and a letter explaining your interest here. Job Description TechCrunch is looking for someone to oversee the Startup Battlefield process in all its phases — including applicant recruitment, applicant review and final selection (working under the direction of TC’s co-editors), finalist training and rehearsals, and finally stage management at Disrupt. The role’s title is Battlefield Editor. In addition to those responsibilities, the role will focus on expanding our network of angels, incubators, VCs, and accelerators to recruit a stronger pool of Battlefield applicants, strengthening our rehearsal program, and developing the Battlefield franchise, both online and offline, for applicants and alums. The role requires a strong writer who can post on TechCrunch about Battlefield matters, as well as manage many threads of communication with the many parties who make up the Battlefield. The core of the job is a strong ability to work with relatively green, unlaunched startups and prepare them to present brilliantly on the TC Disrupt stage before a group of highly distinguished judges. That preparation process takes enormous focus and commitment. Beyond that core requirement, the role will also work to help expand the Battlefield franchise in a variety of ways, including improved ties with Battlefield alums. Candidates should have deep experience in the Silicon Valley startup world and direct experience working with startups and investors to help shape new ideas and prepare them to pitch investors. They should possess very strong personal and written communication skills, outstanding organizational skills, a high capacity for detail work, and a very patient and winning attitude.

Countless wearers of Google Glass stalked the halls of this year's Google I/O developer conference, but only a lucky few were sporting the prescription model, which makes room for lenses in a more conventional glasses frame. Among those lucky early adopters with imperfect vision was Thad Starner, a Georgia Tech professor who, in 2010, was recruited to join a top-secret project at Google's fabled X Lab. That project, as it turned out, was Glass, and Starner's role on the team as a technical lead would be a vital one. Starner invented the term "augmented reality" in 1990 and, after experimenting with wearable technologies for 20 years now, offered us a rare perspective on where the stuff has been and where it's headed. So, then, we were very glad to get a few moments to chat with the man at I/O and get his insight into how we got to be where we are and, indeed, get some suggestions from him on where we're going from here. Filed under: Wearables, Google Comments

After previously investing into the company, Google has now acquired Makani Power, a green energy startup that is currently building airborne wind turbines. The acquisition was first reported in Brad Stone’s Businessweek story about Google X and judging from Stone’s story, the team will join Google X. Google invested $10 million in the Alameda, CA-based company in 2006 and another $5 million in 2008. As far as we can see, this also marks the first time Google has acquired a company specifically for its Google X skunk works. Stone reports that Google CEO Larry Page approved the acquisition, but as Google X’s director Astro Teller notes, Page said that X “could have the budget and the people to go do this, but that we had to make sure to crash at least five of the devices in the near future.” Makani says it hopes that this acquisition will provide it with ” the resources to accelerate our work to make wind energy cost competitive with fossil fuels.” The acquisition comes just a week after the company completed the first autonomous flight of its Wing 7 prototype. Here is how TechCrunch columnist Matylda Czarnecka described the project back in 2012: The Makani Airborne Wind Turbines, which resemble mini airplanes, are launched when wind speeds reach 3.5 meters per second. Rotors on each blade help propel it into orbit, and double as turbines once airborne. The blades are tethered to the ground with a cord that delivers power to throw them into the sky and receives energy generated by the turbines to be sent to the grid-connected ground station.