The next big thing in mobile is… voice?
As data and web access started shifting to mobile devices, applications emerged and traditional phone calls began a slow decline, all but superseded by texting, mobile apps and the wireless web.
Today, texting and mobile applications have surpassed voice in popularity, arguably because of their dynamic and flexible nature. Sending photos to friends in real-time is a snap, as is using SMS to update our Twitter status. Want to keep track of your expenses from your… Continue Reading
SocialCord creates payment platform for Twitter; now what will people pay for?
Let the monetization begin: SocialCord has created a platform for musicians, writers and brands to build a “freemium” model delivered over Twitter or mobile phones. For example, bands wrestling with how to make a living from their music can send links to songs or videos of live performances to their most devoted fans first for a monthly charge. (”Freemium” is the business model of giving away basics for free while charging for special or advanced… Continue Reading
Palm’s Pre fails to help Sprint, and RIM snickers
[Disclosure: This post is one of a series of articles sponsored by Verizon. The company has given us editorial freedom to write what we'd like. In return for us covering the company's developer conference, Verizon will be running ads on our site in ensuing weeks.]
Sprint Nextel’s much-vaunted launch of the Palm Pre smartphone hasn’t turned around losses in the company’s subscriber base yet, according to second-quarter earnings results. The company said today that it lost… Continue Reading
Q&A: Verizon says it will be the first to offer ‘true’ mobile video
[Disclosure: This post is one of a series of articles sponsored by Verizon. The company has given us editorial freedom to write what we'd like. In return for us covering the company's developer conference, Verizon will be running ads on our site in ensuing weeks.]
Verizon just launched an app store called Vcast Apps, opening the door for developers to reach 1 billion consumers by working with the company’s software development kits and application programming interfaces…. Continue Reading
Twitter brings back full SMS capabilities to U.K. on O2 network
O2 is becoming the second mobile operator to revive full SMS text messaging capabilities in the United Kingdom after Twitter cut the service last fall because of costs. (Users can send updates viatext message to Twitter but, unlike in the U.S., can’t receive updates). Co-founder Biz Stone said there are no extra charges for this beyond standard texting rates. Users can activate the service in their account settings and the shortcode for texting in the… Continue Reading
Sony Ericsson takes cues from Apple, RIM app store pricing
Sony Ericsson opened its PlayNow Arena app store to developers, taking elements from both Apple and Blackberry maker Research In Motion’s pricing models.
The company is sharing 70 percent of revenues after taxes and service charges, mirroring Apple. However, it’s setting a minimum price for paid apps of about 3 euros across euro-zone countries and 3 pounds in the U.K. Following in Research in Motion’s footsteps, the price floor is conceivably a protection against shoddy apps… Continue Reading
Google adds layers to its mobile maps; multiple search capabilities
Google Maps’ mobile phone experience is becoming a richer experience with the addition of layers that you see public transit, Wikipedia entries or your friends’ location on Latitude. For example when coming to a new town, you can turn on a Wikipedia layer that lets you learn about notable sites nearby. Or you can turn on local search results to pull up restaurant or bar listings on your phone while you’re meandering around a neigborhood…. Continue Reading
Turn Flickr, Facebook photos into postcards with ShoZu, Touchnote
ShoZu, a London-based company connecting phones to social networking sites, is partnering with Touchnote, to let you mail any photos you’ve uploaded through their service as postcards to friends and family.
British startup Touchnote, which won audience award for best mobile service last week at our MobileBeat 2009 conference, allows phone applications to print an image and mail it to anywhere in the world. After seeing the company demo on stage at MobileBeat, Shozu chief executive Chris Wade… Continue Reading
Business cards finally useful again with augmented reality?
Like the human appendix, business cards have outlasted their actual usefulness, but they’re somehow still around, piling up and killing trees. Perhaps they have a little more life in them with the help of augmented reality, a fast-growing area that superimposes animation or information on real-life objects in a camera’s viewfinder.
Jonas Jager tried to reinvigorate the business card by adding presentations that include video or 3-D animations. Those presentations are uploaded the web; then the… Continue Reading
Apple and RIM to share more than half of cellphone industry profits this year
Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s Blackberry are on track to make up more than half of the mobile phone industry’s profits this year, according to Deutsche Bank.
The two companies may contribute 58 percent of the industry’s operating profits this year even though their handsets only account for 5 percent of the market, predicted Deutsche analyst Brian Modoff in The Wall Street Journal.
Last year the two companies captured 3 percent of the market, but accounted… Continue Reading
Facebook opens developer platform for mobile
Facebook has announced that third-party developers can integrate features from web-based Facebook applications to work on mobile devices.
Most of the world uses mobile devices, and in many countries, people use phones more than they do computers. With Facebook’s audience rocketing upward around the world, this latest move could encourage higher participation, at least among people who use Facebook applications.
It comes as the company reportedly prepares New York for its new “SocialAds” ad network and tries… Continue Reading
AdMob raises $15M, in race for mobile ad crown
updated
AdMob, which says it has the largest ad platform for mobile phones, has raised $15 million in a second round of financing led by Silicon Valley’s venture firm Accel Partners, and including existing investor Sequoia Capital.
AdMob, of San Mateo, Calif., has served more than 1.6 billion ads in less than a year, and says that is more than any other player, including Third Screen Media, a Boston-based competitor that AOL is reportedly in talks to… Continue Reading