5 O’Clock Roundup: Raytheon buys BBN, Verizon hot … and not, things built on Twitter
Raytheon completes acquisition of BBN for $350M — Both companies do defense R&D and are packed with MIT grads. Raytheon works on military projects such as the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment. R&D company BBN makes cheery Internet publishing tool suite EveryZing, but the company also… Continue Reading
Palm to debut new Pixi cell phone with Sprint on Nov. 15
Palm and Sprint said today that the Palm Pixi cell phone will be available on Nov. 15 for $99.99.
The Palm Pixi phone is the second major smartphone from Palm this year. In June, Palm launched the $199 Palm Pre on Sprint’s phone network. The goal… Continue Reading
Android app tidal wave coming, says Flurry
As app developers rush to prepare for the launch of Verizon’s Droid smartphone in November, new applications for Google’s open-source Android mobile platform have spiked 94% between September and October, according to app developer analytics provider Flurry.
“Developers who used to develop only for iPhone are… Continue Reading
Android phones give carrier services more muscle
Google’s Android phones have emerged as major competitors to the red-hot iPhone. And now Android seems to have yet one more thing working in its favor: Carriers have figured out that it offers them some very valuable options to help them differentiate their services from… Continue Reading
A review of location-based networks — and how they can grow faster
Location based social networking keeps getting tremendous hype, but the question is whether it will live up to its potential.
The buzz continued this week when Loopt, one of the earliest location-based social networks, announced the acquisition of GraffitiGEO. Loopt recommends places to go based on… Continue Reading
VentureBeat-DEMO meetup in London — see you at the Sanderson Hotel
VentureBeat is coming to London!
We’re hosting cocktails on Wednesday, Oct 28., at the groovy Sanderson Hotel in London’s Soho from 6 to 8pm. I’ll be in London to moderate at the Symbian mobile conference SEE next week, but wanted to take the opportunity to meet… Continue Reading
WhitePages: Android users more likely to buy apps than iPhone users
iPhone app shoppers outnumber Android consumers several times over. But WhitePages, which makes popular phone directory and caller-ID applications for both platforms, reports a surprisingly high conversion rate among Android users compared to their iPhone counterparts.
WhitePages VP of Mobile, Kevin Nakao, told me in a… Continue Reading
More Revenge of the South Bay: WiChorus acquired for $165
Not long after VMware paid $420 million for SprintSource, the Peninsula has another 9-digit exit by a company whose product description is probably unintelligible to the average Twitter user.
Network gear maker Tellabs has agreed to pay $165 million in net cash to buy WiChorus, maker… Continue Reading
Web 2.0: Google’s Sergey Brin admits Chrome for Mac delays are disappointing
Google co-founder Sergey Brin made a surprise appearance at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco today, where he was booster-ish on almost everything (Google, Bing, hardware, web advertising, more), but did admit to one disappointment: The delays in releasing a version of Google’s Chrome… Continue Reading
Web 2.0: Adobe CEO confident against Microsoft, vague on iPhone
Adobe chief executive Shantanu Narayen spoke at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco today, focusing particularly on the company’s Flash platform. His overriding message: When it comes to providing the underlying technology for web video, games, and other applications, this is Adobe’s game to… Continue Reading
iPhone app marketing and monetization meetup tonight
Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by VSC & AppLaunchPR.
Mobile apps are hot right now. Developers spend a good amount of time in development and through the Apple process but still could use a few tips and tricks on better ways to marketing and monetize their… Continue Reading
Stoke clings to dream of seamless WiFi-to-cellular roaming, raises $5M more
A few years ago, companies like Stoke and Bridgeport Networks emerged with a noble vision: Create a super phone network technology that lets you move seamlessly back and forth from your home WiFi connection to the cellular network outside. That way, you’d use the strongest… Continue Reading
Demo ‘10 begins in Boston — calling all awesome startups
It’s been a few weeks since Demo took San Diego by storm, and I posted a few days ago about a few of the cool things that happened to some of the demonstrating companies.
More on that in a sec. But here’s a reminder that we’re… Continue Reading
iPhone app marketing and monetization meetup this Thursday
Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by VSC & AppLaunchPR.
Mobile apps are hot right now. Developers spend a good amount of time in development and through the Apple process but still could use a few tips and tricks on better ways to marketing and monetize their… Continue Reading
Apple’s Tim Cook scoffs at iPhone competitors
The iPhone was the hot new thing a year or two ago, but now it’s seeing increasing competition from Google, Palm, and others — for example, my editor Matt Marshall just declared that he’s abandoning his iPhone for Droid, the Android phone coming at the… Continue Reading
Apple earnings by the numbers
There are some very interesting numbers in Apple’s third-quarter press release. Apple has also disclosed more numbers in its conference call which is still in progress. Some highlights:
3.05 million Macs sold this quarter, up 17 percent from a year ago. The overall PC market is… Continue Reading
Wolfram Alpha launches iPhone “knowledge engine” with a big price tag
Early reviews of Wolfram Alpha’s iPhone application, which appeared in the App Store over the weekend, have been pretty positive, but the $49.99 price is decidedly not a hit with bloggers.
The app is basically an iPhone- and iPod-Touch friendly interface for Wolfram Alpha, the online… Continue Reading
Droid, the phone that finally lets me cancel my iPhone — here’s why
A new phone called Droid is about to hit the market at the end of October, and it will likely have the glitz and power to bury the iPhone.
So I’m canceling my iPhone contract today. I’ll smugly wait out the rest of the month without… Continue Reading
Transfer To: Lets you transfer mobile phone credit to relatives
Transfer To, a company that lets people transfer mobile phone credit to friends or relatives, has raised $3 million in a first round investment to expand the service internationally.
Transfer To operates a service that facilitates the transfer of mobile phone credits (otherwise known as “airtime”)… Continue Reading
At least a few consumers think location-based ads are useful (survey)
There’s a big, untapped audience for location-based advertising, where businesses can send offers to the cell phone’s of nearby shoppers, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Interactive. The study was commissioned by 1020 Placecast — which is, naturally, a location-based advertising company.
Before diving… Continue Reading