A new iPhone… but not for Verizon

Update, 12:00 p.m.: Verizon Wireless Public Relations Manager Sheldon Jones contacted Technically Philly to make clear that the carrier has no immediate plans to make available the iPhone on the Verizon Wireless network and that the company talks to many vendors about the possibility of working together. “We have no immediate plans of offering [the iPhone] and we do talk to all of the companies. We’re very confident in the line-up we have, a porfolio which is bigger and better than anyone out there,” he said.

Yesterday in San Jose, California, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was on-hand for what has become a June tradition: the unveiling of the company’s latest iPhone.

The new smartphone has a handful of new bells and whistles: a stainless steel rim, a thinner form factor, a faster processor, better battery life, a video conferencing camera and an impressive new high-resolution display, among other technological advancements.

But one new feature that didn’t crop up was support for Verizon Wireless’s network. Currently, the coveted phone is only available for AT&T Wireless.

It’s no surprise, really. Analysts and fans have been predicting since the iPhone was first launched in 2007 that the phone will someday land on Verizon store shelves, to no avail.

So when Technically Philly spoke to Verizon Wireless regional president Mario Turco a few weeks before yesterday’s announcement, the iPhone issue wasn’t even on the docket. It seemed a tired conversation. Yet, as the call was wrapping up, a Verizon public relations rep reminded us that, yes, it was still very much on the docket for Big Red.

Read the rest at PhillyMag’s Philly Post.

VC Roundup: PACT emerges from ETC and MAC, Outplay wins Baiada

Welcome to the VC Round-up, where we’ll parse through venture capital news related to Philadelphia-based private equity firms and the companies they fund. Subscribe to the roundup as an email newsletter. If you have any VC-related news to pass along to us, please drop us a line.

Update: corrected ETC’s name, corrected Precision item.

DEFINITE READS

Remember when Eastern Technology Council and Mid-Atlantic Capital fund merged? We’ll the new entity has finally decided on its new name and branding. Last Wednesday the new group announced at its awards dinner that it will be called PACT, short for Greater Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies. Dean Miller of Novitas Capital will serve as the group’s CEO.

Outplay Technologies took first place at Drexel’s Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship Incubator Competition. According to the Inquirer’s Mike Armstrong, the company develops alternative video game controls  such as button-filled gloves. No comment, however, from the NES powerglove guy.

MIGHT BE WORTH YOUR TIME

Radnor-based QR Pharma has raised $2.4 Million in seed money, including $500,000 from Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

NextStage Capital portfolio company Moda technolgies sold to Swiss-based Lonza Group for $10 Million according to our good friend Joe Destefano. The group planned a party at a local steakhouse to celebrate. For the record, fellas, Technically Philly is offended we weren’t invited. You should see Chris Wink sing karaoke.

Read more

GoodCompany Ventures launches with ten, asks DreamIt to play kickball

Edit: Removed information from an old press release.

GoodCompany Ventures, the Center City-based incubator focusing on companies that are not only profitable but also fulfill societal needs, kicked off its 2010 Social Impact Incubator class this week. According to a press release, Mayor Nutter was on hand to begin the summer for ten new companies.

GoodCompany operates much like University City-based DreamIT Ventures (which it challenged to a kickball game): after a summer of incubation, the companies are presented at a “funding day.”

The incubator, co-founded by Garret Melby, Jacob Gray and Christopher Bentley, adds an an ever-growing group socially-conscience entrepreneurial organizations in the region which already include Bcorp, Murex Investments and Missioneurs.

Follow us after the jump to see the complete list of companies:

Read more

Event Highlights: June 7-13, 2010

It’s cool people. Don’t fret. We’re bringing the Flyers back home for the next one. Chill, dog.

And hell if it isn’t a good time to be in town. Philly Beer week is already raging (if the PBC truck at Liberty Lands park on Saturday was any indication), and there’s some great technology events around town, too. Grab a beer. Head on over to one of the community happenings. And do a night cap from your favorite local brewery.

This week, Twitter’s in town, there’s fun to be had at Agile Philly’s hack night and there’s an evening dedicated to process improvement. We’d make fun of that, but geez, we love productivity as much as the next guy.

Read more

Friday Q & A: Josh Goldblum on bluecadet’s awards

The trophy case at bluecadet Interactive must be getting a bit crowded.

Fresh off of an Emmy, the Northern Liberties-based interactive firm beat out the Museum of Modern Art this week to snag a silver in the Muse Awards, the awards for museum exhibit designers.

Thanks to art director Troy LeChance’s and owner Josh Goldblum’s background working for museums, the firm’s portfolio has a handful of exhibits and multimedia offerings from places like the Smithsonian and the Holocaust Museum. The award-winning piece, however was a look at the Lincoln Memorial through the eyes of its park rangers.

We talked with Goldblum on his way back from vacation about the award, the state of Philly design and why he doesn’t want to run a successful design firm.

Read more

Thanks to our weekly sponsors

Technically Philly is made possible by advertisers and sponsors that are important to Philadelphia’s technology community. This week we’d like to thank:

Eight Eleven – The folks at Camden-based Eight Eleven do it all. Branding, communications, marketing, advertising, Websites, Web content management, user-experience (Web & software) and public relations. And they also do it for a lot of tech companies, of all sizes, to boot. Heck, they even customized a media kit just for you. Hit ‘em up.

Springboard Media – Springboard Media is a certified Apple Specialist and retailer based in Center City and now, in Exton. They’ve got a ton of accessories and a great trade-in program that can score you up to $1,500 when you’re ready to upgrade.

Nonprofit Technology Resources – Fairmount-based NTR refurbishes used computers and peripherals for families and individuals in Philadelphia who may not otherwise be able to afford to buy a computer. We urge you to donate to this great local cause.

Caffeine Fish – Caffeine Fish develops the Trainboard iPhone app and offers iPhone development consulting in the Philadelphia area.

Towerstream – Towerstream is the leading 4G service provider in the U.S. and is setting up shop in Philadelphia. Contact Towerstream to find out how, in less than a week, you can have first-class 4G service for your business.

Interested in joining these organizations and individuals in supporting Technically Philly? Check out our ad packages and contact our Ad Sales Manager. Can’t find something that fits? We’ll customize a package for you.

Google purchases Invite Media

According to All Things Digital, Google has acquired Center City-based Invite Media for a price tag “in the $70 million range.”

Invite Media, backed by First Round Capital and Comcast Interactive Ventures, acts as a central real-time dashboard for buying web display ads. It’s likely that Google will use Invite’s technology to help further streamline its advertising business, which accounts for nearly all of its revenues.

The company was founded by Penn grads Nat Turner, Zachary Weinberg and Scott Becker and also has offices in the 67th Ward.

This isn’t the first time Google has shown love to the 215, the company also invested in DreamIt vet SCVNGR last year. Google also has been on a bit of an acquisition binge this year, snapping up seven companies since April.

Edit: More details on All Things Digital and on Silicon Alley Insider.

Comcast Roundup: Brian Roberts checking Manhattan real estate, Time Warner comparisons and more

DEFINITE READS

• NewTeeVee dives into research analysis comparing Comcast to Time Warner Cable, another giant that became a media behemoth in a less-than-perfect merger.
• MarketWatch details the paywall-protected reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Comcast CEO Brian Roberts is shopping a $7-$12 million Manhattan condominium. …It’s either a place to rest after dropping in on his prospective NBC subsidiary or a way to contrast the Center City condo he should get instead.
• Ars Technica goes deeper into U.S. Senator Herb Kohl D-Wisc. and his call for Comcast to pull out of Hulu ownership via NBC within a year of the merger in order to earn government approval. H/T Philly Tech News

Below, an LA NBC regulatory meeting, supporting Philadelphia boosterism and more.

Read more

Superior Technology integrated IT solutions eases logistics at local beverage producer

Even for small beverage production startup Cintron Beverage Group, based in South Philadelphia, tracking inventory was, in a word, chaotic.

“There were so many orders going in and out, and the ability to track inventory in real-time didn’t exist,” says Chief Marketing Officer Donna Davin, who handles production, operation, product development and marketing, a tall order.

So when the 20-employee company—which produces a line of energy drinks, iced teas and fruit-flavored beverages—was pitched by its logistics provider DF Young on a new IT solution that could ease the process and consolidate having to manage multiple tech vendors, things were bound to get easier.

Read more

Startup Roundup ad edition: Google eyeing Invite Media, GSI Commerce acquires Fetchback

Introducing Technically Philly’s Startup Roundup. Here, we’ll parse out the small pieces that make our greater Startup ecosystem thrive. We want to keep you in touch with the innovations that we can’t quite get to covering, but that deserve highlight. Follow along with the Startup Roundup’s dedicated RSS feed. If you’ve got news to share, get in touch.

DEFINITE READS

All Things Digital reports that Google has been in talks to acquire demand-side advertising platform Invite Media after it closes out its recent $750 million deal with AdMob, the largest in the search giant’s history. Invite, founded by University of Penn grads, with offices in Philly and New York, expressed doubt to the publication. CEO Nat Turner told AllThingsD that “I’ve honestly heard similar rumors about every other company in the space.”

More good news for Invite. The company announced a partnership with ad aggregator AlmondNet to provide advertising bid access for the latter’s keyword and segment-based data.

Read more