doubleTwist
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Digital Media |
| Founded | San Francisco, California (March 2007) |
| Founder(s) | Monique Farantzos, President & Chairman, Jon Lech Johansen, CEO |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California |
| Website | www.doubletwist.com |
doubleTwist Corporation is a digital media company founded by Monique Farantzos and Jon Lech Johansen. It is backed by Index Ventures (Skype, Last.FM) and Northzone Ventures.
The doubleTwist application enables users to send photos and videos to their friends and sync their media library to a wide variety of portable devices.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Software
DoubleTwist Media Player is available across many platforms. A free download is available on the company's homepage. It looks similar to Apple's iTunes media player, but with a few subtle differences (such as the location of the album artwork).
DoubleTwist Media Player is an application available for phones running the Google Android software stack. This easy to use software is directly compatible with Apple's iTunes as well as Windows Media Player, allowing users to sync movies, pictures, music, and playlists to their mobile device through USB. The software, free of charge, is available in the Android Market. As of January 1, 2011, doubleTwist Media Player is in version 1.1.2 and has more than 250,000 total downloads. As of February 2, 2011, doubleTwist Media Player surpassed one million active users per month.[2] As of April 21, 2011, doubleTwist Media Player is in version 1.3.8 and has between 1,000,000 and 5,000,000 downloads.[3]
AirSync is an additional application that runs through DoubleTwist Media Player allowing for wireless media syncing using a shared wifi connection. It is available in the Android Market for $4.99. It is not required for media syncing. Once the Android device and a computer are on the same wireless network, the software is paired to the device using a unique 5 digit code. During a given media sync, the screen lock is disabled and media cannot be accessed through DoubleTwist Media Player until completed [4]
[edit] Controversy
On Friday June 5, 2009, “The Cure for iPhone Envy” billboard ad[5] was put up on the BART exit outside the flagship San Francisco Apple Store. DoubleTwist's contract with BART’s ad agency specified that the ad would go up on Monday morning, the day of the WWDC keynote. However, the ad agency put the ad up early, on the Friday before.[6] Shortly after the ad was put up, it was taken down by a BART employee.[7] BART cited several advertising criteria violations as reasons for the ad being removed, including the original being too dark, and the subsequent redesign inappropriately having a white background.[8] With Apple being a multi-million dollar client of BART, it is widely suggested that Apple pressured BART into removing the ad.[9][10]
[edit] References
- ^ DoubleTwist puts a twist on media-sharing
- ^ http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/15/android-media-player-doubletwist-hits-1-million-active-users/
- ^ https://market.android.com/details?id=com.doubleTwist.androidPlayer
- ^ DoubleTwist Air Sync website
- ^ [1]
- ^ Article in AdAge on doubleTwist's ad campaign
- ^ Picture of BART employee ripping down doubleTwist ad
- ^ Blog post by doubleTwist co-founder on the story behind the doubleTwist ad
- ^ Article in TechCrunch on doubleTwist ad
- ^ Article in TheAge on doubleTwist ad
