Sonos

Sonos' John MacFarlane Talks About New Android Music Controller Rolling Out Today and More!

Kara Swisher in News on April 19, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

Yesterday afternoon, BoomTown pumped Sonos CEO John MacFarlane full of fancy tea and queried him about today’s rollout of its new Android controller for the innovative wireless music players. As has been previously reported, Santa Barbara, Calif. consumer electronics company will finally be launching an app for the Google mobile operating system, as well as releasing some multitasking and AirPlay updates to boost its software for Apple’s iPhone and iPad.

Voices

CapLinked Wants To Make Deal Opportunities Go Social

Tomio Geron, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on February 23, 2011 at 5:00 am PT

Picture this: LinkedIn-meets-Salesforce, for potential start-up financing opportunities. That’s the vision for CapLinked Inc., a new start-up that wants to be the go-to place for setting up and closing deals, as well as managing portfolio companies after the close.

Apple App Happy Sonos Also Goes Android

Kara Swisher in News on February 10, 2011 at 6:00 am PT

Sonos–the maker of innovative wireless music systems that has been boosted by its Apple iPhone and iPad Controller app–is set to roll out one for Google’s Android mobile operating system. The Sonos Controller for Android will officially introduce the app at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, although the Santa Barbara, Calif., company is announcing it today.

Sonos Marches Its Wireless Music System Into China

Kara Swisher in News on November 2, 2010 at 6:00 am PT

Sonos, maker of the well-known wireless multi-room music system for the home, announced at a press conference in Beijing, China, today that it will soon be selling its products in the important Asian market. The move by the Santa Barbara, Calif., consumer electronics company is a big expansion, putting its players in the hands of a growing base of more affluent Chinese customers by later this month.

Weekend Update 03.13.10–North by Northwest Edition

Drake Martinet in News on March 13, 2010 at 4:17 pm PT

With virtually every twittery, techie media fanboy and girl swarming all over the greater Austin area this week, it feels a little empty in the Bay Area. The sun is shining, but Dolores park is just a little emptier. There are fewer fixed-gear bikes darting between cars around the Mission District, and convenience store shelves are overflowing with unpurchased Pabst Blue Ribbon. Neither rain, nor snow, nor a hipster-packed BBQ joint can keep AllThingsD from our appointed post, though.

Index Invests $25 Million in Sonos (Plus a Video Interview With VC Mike Volpi)

Kara Swisher in News on March 12, 2010 at 9:00 am PT

Earlier this week, BoomTown had lunch with Michelangelo “Mike” Volpi, the high-profile tech exec who turned into a VC recently at Index Ventures. We also did a video interview about his new life as a an investor, based in London, although Volpi did manage to leave out the big news. That would be a just-inked $25 million investment by Index in wireless home music system maker Sonos, as well as a new board seat there for Volpi.

Voices

Almost Famous: Ethan Beard of Facebook

Drake Martinet, Intern, All Things Digital in News on January 25, 2010 at 1:48 am PT

In this installment of “Almost Famous” that we call “Need to Know,” focusing on less prominent but very important tech execs you need to know better, we friended Ethan Beard, director of the Facebook Developer Network. He’s a mover inside the Web’s biggest social networking shaker. We talked Facebook platform, music, 1200-baud modems and his addiction to social gaming. Also: Don’t miss the picture of Ethan dressed as a banana.

Weekend Update 12.19.09–Last-Minute Shopping Edition

Drake Martinet in News on December 19, 2009 at 12:30 pm PT

Kara covered three Web companies this week, two with very 2.0 names and one about as Web 1.0 as it gets. BoomTown caught up with Mark Pincus of Zynga, the social-gaming juggernaut, right after the company raked in about $180 million from private investors. She got into it with Pincus over those questionable “offer” adverts in the video. Kara was back on familiar territory with a post about AOL this week.