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Best of shows: Top 10 from DemoFall, TechCrunch50

Note: CNET's judges for this article were Dan Farber, Josh Lowensohn, Elinor Mills, Rafe Needleman, and Daniel Terdiman.

Correction at 7:30 a.m. PDT: The current name for the GPS-based ride-sharing product is Mapflow's Avego.

More than 120 companies presented at this week's competing start-up conferences: DemoFall and TechCrunch50.

As usual with conferences like this, many of the products were either derivative or best described as cool, new features that will be commonplace in a year. But there were some breakouts--companies showing unique technology, or standout thinking.

CNET covered the two events extensively. After their conclusions, we gathered to compare notes and select our top products from both shows, the products that we thought differentiated from the pack through innovation, consumer need, business model, or some combination. These are our top 10 products, the CNET Best of Shows:

FitbitSmall, wearable activity monitor and pedometer. Transmits your data to the Web, where you can track your activity and bring in friends to encourage you along. Fitbit was a runner-up for the top product launch at TechCrunch50.

Why we like it: We agree with Josh Kopelman: "Buying this is more of an IQ test than a financial decision."

Chances for success: High. Great idea, great design, great online component. And people need it.

Seen at: TechCrunch50

Fotonauts Beautiful and thoughtful photo sharing site. Being called a Wikipedia for photos, or a more modern Flickr.

Why we like it: Better sharing and management tools than we are accustomed to online; balances presentation controls with the social angle.

Chances for success: Decent. CEO has solid experience (former CTO of NeXT and Apple's application division), and cost of developing is not too high. Potential for viral growth is good.

Seen at: TechCrunch50

GoodGuide Online guide to buying healthy, green, and humane products.

Why we like it: Has great product data presented in a compelling and simple interface. And the timing is right; people care about this information.

Chances for success: Very good. Looks addictive and useful. Great business model. (Site has buying links to products.)

Seen at: TechCrunch50

… Read more

In the TechCrunch50 Demo Pit

From deep inside TechCrunch50... Although there are 50 companies presenting on stage, even the companies that didn't qualify for stage time get attention at the event. I explored the demo pit yesterday, where the runners-up pitch to the passers-by.

Companies covered in this video:

Rate Surfer Jibidee Givvy

Web service tells you what stresses you out

Me-trics is a lifestyle service that correlates your stress level with the other things going on in and around your life. You report on your stress, and also feed it your content feeds, and it tells what you're doing that is causing you stress. Or what you do that reduces it.

There's an easy interface for mobiles that lets you tell the service how you're feeling. On the input site, you feed Me-trics your financial data form Mint, your Twitter feed, and so on, and it will make the connections. Then if you notice that Twittering makes … Read more

TechCrunch50: The day 2 schedule

One day down, and two more to go, as the TechCrunch50 gives start-ups a chance to show off their nifty new goods and services.

CNET News is providing full-on coverage of both TechCrunch50, taking place in San Francisco, and the dueling, simultaneous DemoFall event, located downstate in San Diego. You can find it all on our comprehensive Launch Week page.

Herewith the list of Tuesday's TechCrunch50 presenters:

• Alfabetic (Presented by Oded Broshi and Arik Kopelman) • DropBox (Presented by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi) • Emerginvest (Presented by Andrew Waterman and Eugene Kim) • ExchangeP (Presented by Saul Kato and Charles Katz) • … Read more

Peter Thiel: Google is undervalued, and CEOs are overpaid

Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and who rarely gives public interviews, spoke with Michael Arrington at the TechCrunch50 conference today.

Topics ranged from politics to finance and technology. On the item of the stock market, Thiel is concerned that our economy keeps producing bubbles--technology, housing, foreign investing, etc.--yet he does not feel the current technology market is a bubble. Referring to the valuation of Google, Yahoo, Amazon, and other tech stocks, he said, "on a relative basis, they're among the cheapest companies in terms of stock."

But the 2000 bubble, he says, "set technology … Read more

Live coverage: Monday's Google announcement

We're live at TechCrunch50. Google has an announcement scheduled for 11:45 a.m. PDT. See below for the live report on the Google News Archive, which makes digital copies of old newspapers available online through partnerships with the company's publishers.

See more product launch stories from TechCrunch50 and DemoFall.

TechCrunch50: 10 to watch

There are 12 sessions for the TechCrunch50 pitches spread over three days. Here are my top picks for the ones to watch for this conference, based solely on the write-ups in the conference program. Hopefully the pitches will live up to, or surpass, the blurbs.

Although not every session gets a pick from me at this early stage, TechCrunch50 looks like it will be a very good launch conference. There are some creative ideas being presented here.

For the full lineup of TechCrunch50 presenters for day one of the conference, go here.

Rafe's 10 to watch from TechCrunch50

Shyrk … Read more

TechCrunch50: The day 1 schedule

The first day is upon us for the dueling conferences for start-ups: DemoFall and the TechCrunch50.

The organizers of the TechCrunch event have been playing their start-up cards close to the vest, but Monday morning at last released the names of the companies presenting throughout the first day. The three-day event, taking place at the San Francisco Design Center Concourse, runs from 7:30 a.m. PDT to 7:30 p.m. PDT on Monday.

For who's on tap at DemoFall, which is happening in San Diego, see Rafe Needleman's preview, "DemoFall preview: 10 to watch," … Read more

Google announcement coming later today

Google will present something--we don't yet know what--in a special 15-minute slot at the TechCrunch50 event Monday at 11:45 a.m. Pacific time. I will be there and will cover the announcement in a live blog. For the as-it-happens report, check in on Webware at 11:40 a.m. or so, or sign up in the widget below to get a reminder e-mail.

If you have a theory about the announcement, take the poll at right. You can enter your own option if you don't like the ones I've included.

Update: Google has just announced the Google News Archive, … Read more