App Trailers Gives You Gift Cards For Watching App Videos

Mobile advertising startup AppRedeem has just launched App Trailers, a new product that rewards you for viewing videos about mobile apps. The service, available here from the iTunes App Store, doesn’t use the same model as typical incentivized install programs do today. Instead, users are given points for watching a trailer, then are provided with the option to download the app at the end of the video. Only if a users taps “yes” is the advertiser charged.

Says AppReedem, these types of installs will be more valuable to the advertiser because the user is indicating that they actually want to install and try that app. Users get the same number of points whether or not they choose to installs, so they’re really only downloading apps they’re interested in – there’s no bonus for tapping “yes.”

Each video listed in the app is worth 10 points, but users can get 25 points for registering their email or inviting friends to try the service.

Rewards include a $1 Amazon gift card (100 points), a $5 REI gift card (500 points), $10 gift cards from Crate&Barrel, Fandango or Macy’s (1,000 points) and $25 gift cards from Nike, Nordstrom or Pottery Barn (2,500 points).

Given how long it would take you to accumulate enough points to earn the top-level rewards, it’s clear this app is best suited to those who have a lot of free time on your hands. (Perhaps those without an Angry Bird addiction?)

That said, App Trailers is certainly a unique take on driving app installs in an increasingly overcrowded app marketplace. And who know? You might even discover a new app to try when the service ramps up a bit. Currently, there are videos for a number of popular apps, including Priceline, Groupon, LivingSocial, SkyGrid, PingMe, Blendr and others. The only problem? Apparently you don’t get any points for having all those apps already installed on your phone. Bummer.

You can try App Trailers for yourself from here.

AppReedem raised $700,000 from SV Angel and Blue Run Ventures in June. It also has an AppReedem-branded app on Android here.

AppRedeem is an early-stage, high-growth promotion and advertising platform that drives mobile application engagement. World-class firms – Gilt Groupe, Groupon, and others – use AppRedeem today to fuel their mobile growth.

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Party Planning Platform Punchbowl Expands Beyond Invitations To Digital Greeting Cards

Leena Rao currently works as a writer for TechCrunch. She recently finished graduate school at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, where she studied business journalism and videography. From 2004 to 2007, she helped lead Congresswoman Carloyn Maloney’s community outreach and relations efforts in New York City. She graduated from Columbia University in 2003, where she was... ? Learn More

Start to finish party planning site Punchbowl is moving beyond just offering online invitations to the digital greeting card business. The company’s digital greeting cards allow you to send a thank you note, birthday card and more to contacts while still providing the look and feel of a traditional paper greeting card.

Punchbowl’s Digital Greeting Cards come with folded designs, matching envelopes, realistic postmarks, and the mailopening experience. The cards can be personalized with accents such as envelope liners, custom postage, and rubber stamps. You can choose from hundreds of free designs and will be able to write messages in carious inks and fonts.

As we’ve written in the past, Punchbowl’s platform allows users to create beautiful online invitations and track RSVPs. The startup also provides tools that let you find supplies, organize an after party and even set a date, via an algorithm that recommends the best date for your party. The site also allows you to set up gift registries, save-the-dates, message boards, integrate Google Maps’ to display the location, and share comments, photos, and videos.

With a digital cards platform, Punchbowl’s real stationary-like technology is expanded to other greeting cards, which should be useful for the company’s million-plus users. Punchbowl also recently launched an iPhone app as well.

With the product expansion, Punchbowl has also unveiled DigitalGreetingCard.org, a new site that aims to declare independence from paper greeting cards

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Toshiba’s FlashAir SDHC Cards Pack Wireless LAN

Chris Velazco is a mobile enthusiast and writer who studied English and Marketing at Rutgers University. Once upon a time, he was the news intern for MobileCrunch, and in between posts, he worked in wireless sales at Best Buy. After graduating, he returned to the new TechCrunch to as a full-time mobile writer. He counts advertising, running, musical theater,... ? Learn More

There’s a whole lot going on at IFA right now, and while big announcements like the new Wave phones or Sony’s rather odd Android tablets get all the love, the little ones deserve some spotlight too. Toshiba has announced that they will launch the world’s first SDHC memory card with Wireless LAN functionality.

I know what you’re thinking: that sounds an awful lot like what the Eye-Fis do. You’re right, but only to an extent: while products like Eye-Fi’s Pro X2 allow users to upload photos directly from a camera to a computer or a smartphone, the transfers will only ever move in one direction.

Toshiba’s FlashAir cards can do that just fine, but the real fun comes in the form of peer-to-peer transfers. Owners of FlashAir compliant cameras can send and receive photos between each other, adding an extra level of functionality that should stand to set FlashAir apart.

While Toshiba neglects to mention any pricing details, the first FlashAir SDHC cards should see the sales floor in February 2012. Only the 8 GB Class 6 model is on display in Germany right now, but expect to see a few more size options pop up between now and then.

If the FlashAir ever reaches the widespread adoption rates Toshiba must be hoping for, it’ll be easier than ever to swap embarrassing photos while on the go. The big question: is this a blessing or a curse?

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iTunes Rival Rdio Launches Gift Cards, Available Online And At Target

Streaming music service Rdio from Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis, is today launching two new music gifting options – physical gift cards and online credits. Consumers will be able to purchase the virtual gift card options in $10, $25, $50 and $100 values or in user-selected amounts. Meanwhile, physical cards in the $10 and $25 values will be sold in over 600 Target retail stores here in the U.S.

The Rdio Gift Card is flexible in that it doesn’t specify how the money has to be used. The recipient can choose to use it towards their monthly subscription, offline music downloads or with the recently announced Rdio Unlimited Family Plan.

Rdio vs. iTunes – “Rent” vs. “Own”

The gift cards are the first time that Rdio is being sold in retail stores in the U.S. Although they’ll be sold alongside top competitor iTunes, the two services are actually quite different. iTunes charges you for the music you download, which can then be saved and synced to your Apple devices. Rdio, instead, provides streaming access to all the music in its catalog of nearly 11 million songs for a monthly fee. In other words, with iTunes you own the music you buy, but with Rdio, for the most part, you rent it.

Like Apple’s forthcoming iTunes Match service, Rdio also employs a matching tool which scours your local library (in iTunes or Windows Media Player) to look for the names of artists, albums and songs that are already available in its catalog. This is included with Rdio’s monthly fee, but Apple will charge $25/year to do the same. However, Apple will also upgrade tracks to a high-quality, DRM-format when performing its match.

In addition, Rdio users can buy select tracks for offline listening, if desired – a feature that’s more on par with the traditional iTunes offering. Often this option is due to the music labels and/or rightsholders’ restrictions on streaming.

The new Rdio gift cards are available at Target now, or on Rdio’s website at www.rdio.com/gift.

Rdio is an unlimited, on-demand social music service that lets subscribers listen to music on the web and mobile devices. Rdio differentiates itself by its social design which emulates...

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