Verizon released the BlackBerry OS 5.0 update alongside the Storm2 launch date this morning. I just had to try it out as I had ranked the BlackBerry Storm as the worst phone ever made. I’ve only had the update loaded for about an hour so far, but everything seems slightly better including the reception, responsiveness, and the iPhone-like effects. I still don’t like the phone but at least it seems usable now. → Read More
Holy m-commerce, Batman!
According to eBay CEO John Donahoe, shoppers have already spent about $400 million on the popular commerce site using the company’s free iPhone application.
The number pales in comparison with eBay’s total sales figure ($59.7 billion last year), but it’s fairly significant considering the fact that the iPhone has a relatively small market share – about 15% of the smartphone segment – and mobile payment transactions are still new to many. Who would have predicted around half a billion dollar in sales a year would be recorded through the eBay iPhone app when it debuted on the App Store last year? → Read More
Real, and available to pre-order. I refer to that BlackBerry wristwatch that was rumored for so, so long till it was “made official” several days ago. Created by Allerta (and not RIM), the watch, officially named the inPulse smartwatch for BlackBerry, will set you back $150 when it’s released in February, 2010. → Read More
It appears that Yahoo Mail is suffering from an outage. Complaints from Yahoo Mail users are all over Twitter. It’s unclear how extensive the outage is and what is causing the issue but we’ll report back when we find out.
Yahoo Mail is currently the No. 1 Web mail service with 300 million people using it worldwide, so even a smaller outage could result in a large amount of people not having access to their email accounts. Competitor Gmail also succumbed to a serious outage recently, leaving users with nearly eight hours of downtime. → Read More
Hello Kitty is 35 years old now, and she still continues to be the dream cartoon cat of millions of teenage girls. If you’re one of these people and have a penchant for gadgets on top of that, this new and strictly limited music player might be the right thing for you. The so-called Hello Kitty Music Player Crystal [JP] is the result of a cooperation between iriver Japan, Hello Kitty company Sanrio and luxury brand Swarovski Crystal. → Read More
It’s an inevitable truth that companies who gain a significant impact on the lives and/or wallets of Americans better have some people firmly on the ground in Washington, D.C. – just ask the likes of Microsoft and Google.
That other online juggernaut, Facebook, is no exception to this rule, thus it’s no surprise to see them recruit another person to help manage public policy communications from the nation’s capital right under the company’s Director of Public Policy, Tim Sparapani. → Read More
A few months ago, we wrote about mobile ad network Greystripe’s study that placed “iPhone moms” (mothers of young children who own iPhones) as one of the new and growing mobile advertising demographics on the street. In August, Greystripe claimed that iPhone moms made up 29.5% of all iPhone users. Today, the ad network is releasing a follow-up report which offers detailed behavioral characteristics of moms in their iPhone ad network. Similar to the “soccer moms” demographic, iPhone moms are a consumer segment that has vast potential for advertisers and app developers.
The report shows several interesting patterns. For example, over 59% of iPhone moms surveyed say they let their children use their iPhone. And 41% of moms who own iPhons download apps specifically for their children to use. → Read More
There we go again.
The Telegraph has published an article about some survey which claims social networks such as Twitter are costing British businesses at the very least £1.38 billion (approx. $2.25 billion) a year.
Shocking findings, I daresay!
Morse, the IT services and technology company who commissioned the survey, said the true cost to the economy could actually be substantially higher than the £1.38bn estimate.
How about we settle for a gazillion? → Read More
mocoNews ran an interesting article this morning about the massive marketing campaign HTC is plotting.
Apparently, the Taiwanese mobile handset maker is about to launch a multi-million dollar advertising campaign over the next 6 months with the aim of becoming a household name in the United States. The company’s Executive Director of Marketing, Steven Seto, formerly head of Starbucks’ global brand strategy, tells mocoNews that the campaign is designed to put the HTC brand will be in front of 95 percent of adult cellphone owners in the U.S. → Read More
There are hundreds of companies small businesses can turn to for tools that facilitate their e-mail marketing campaigns, some of which operate solely on the Web.
One of the largest such providers, Constant Contact, is actually much bigger than most people think.
Launched back in 1998, the company is now publicly traded on NASDAQ and boasts a market cap of nearly half a billion dollars, and the company caters to hundreds of thousands of small businesses and organizations who use its software to spam connect with their customers and members. So if such an e-mail newsletter juggernaut launches a new service that is bound to be a competitor to a host of Internet startups, we take notice. → Read More
So much for the first generation of big Facebook/MySpace social application startups. Slide and RockYou both got huge valuations in venture rounds. But a new generation of application developers has taken center stage and are racking up big revenues and their own eye popping valuations: Zynga, Playfish and Playdom.
All three own popular social games on Facebook and MySpace. Zynga’s Farmville has 61 million monthly users. Playfish’s Pet Society has 21 million monthly users on Facebook. And Playdom has 16+ million monthly users of Mobsters on MySpace and Facebook Combined.
All three companies are getting a ton of press and investor attention. Zynga wants to go public next year. Playfish probably already got bought by EA for $400 million or more. And Playdom probably raised an unannounced big chunk of venture capital over the summer.
These three companies may be generating as much as $300 million annually on sales of virtual goods. Need a shotgun to do that next job on Mobsters? No problem. Pay with a credit card, paypal, or your mobile phone and it’s all yours. And people are obviously very willing to buy these virtual goods. Nothing new there.
The goal of all of these games is to get to a higher level, and generally have more fun growing things or killing things faster than your friends. Get addicted to the free version, then start spending to move things along more quickly. Once people are committed, it’s easy to get them to pay. You can read all about it on Business Week.
Except Business Week didn’t mention the dark side of the business at all. → Read More
Here we are again. The hype leading up to a new mobile device is reaching a fever pitch. Motorola’s Droid sounds, looks, and by some accounts, is impressive. As such, everyone’s favorite superlative is being thrown out there once again: “iPhone killer.” Of course, we’ve heard this before — maybe a dozen times. The BlackBerry Storm was the iPhone killer, the Palm Pre was the iPhone killer, the G2, etc. Not only does the iPhone still survive, it thrives. Why?
The answer is easy, but requires some explanation. Fundamentally, the problem with most iPhone killers is that they’re not actually trying to kill the iPhone. They, as devices, may think they are, but most of them are playing a different game because of the OSes they run, and the companies behind them. One way to think about it is to compare smartphones and more precisely, their OSes, to religion (which we’ve done before). This is especially apt since the nickname for the iPhone is the “Jesus Phone.” → Read More
The first TechCrunch Japan TokyoCamp that was held in August was a blast, but my guess is the next one will be even bigger and better:
I’m delighted to announce the TechCrunch Japan TokyoCamp 2009, which will be held on Friday, November 6. TokyoCamp 2009 is co-organized by by DESIGN IT!, LLC. (a Sociomedia group company that runs TechCrunch Japan) and Nikkei Digital Core (a community under the umbrella of the Nikkei, Japan’s biggest business publication).
There’s going to be a demo pit (no less than 21 of Japan’s finest startups will demo their wares) and a meetup/networking party afterward. Registration is required for both events. → Read More
It appears that reports of 360 exclusivity for Netflix have been greatly exaggerated. You could always hack it onto your console, but this is a little more official. The streaming-video service will arrive on PS3s next month, and current Netflix subscribers will be able to watch to their heart’s content at no extra charge. However, in a rather absurd turn, streaming will only be enabled when you have a special Netflix disc in your PS3. What the hell is that about? → Read More
With all of its SaaS offerings, Salesforce.com is consistently integrating with other forms of cutting edge technologies, such as Twitter, Box.net, and more to offer clients more diverse and appealing options. Today, the company is partnering with Adobe to offer the “Adobe Flash Builder,” off of Force.com, Salesforce’s platform to build and deploy enterprise applications.
The new offering is meant to allow developers and IT departments to build cloud-based rich media applications off of Force.com. Developers can use Adobe Flash Builder for Force.com to extend or enhance existing Salesforce CRM implementations and custom-built Force.com applications, or build entirely new applications to meet business needs. → Read More
The inclusion of both Wi-Fi and a microphone on the DSI made it a favorite for rumors about phone functionality — and while we’ve seen voice chat in some games, there hasn’t been an official channel for that that I know of. But if new rumors, based on a support page mentioning a DSi Speak Channel, are true, then the most popular handheld in the world will be joining the most popular console in the world in having serious voice chat functionality.
Say hello to DSiPhone. → Read More
Oh, it is a strange world we live in. Our phones are computers, our computers are supercomputers, and our bikes are rocket bikes. So why should it seem strange when our email provider translates incoming voicemails?
This one in particular shows how far technology has come. (Short, funny video inside) → Read More
It’s kind of crazy to think that the band U2 has been popular for about 30 years now. Over that three decade span, the group has had music that has ranged from brilliant (War, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby) to self-indulgent (Pop) to a bit odd (Zooropa). But there has been one constant: They’ve always been a great live act. And tonight, a lot of the world will be able to see that from their computer screens.
U2 is streaming their concert tonight from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California live to YouTube. As the site announced earlier this week, some 16 countries will be able to view the show live: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Spain, U.K., U.S. (other countries were presumably excluded due to streaming rights). The show will start at 8:30 PM PT tonight, and you can find it here. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
