Hot group messaging startup GroupMe is dealing with a trademark dispute from a fellow New York startup called Groupie, which is opposing GroupMe’s trademark application on the grounds that the names are too similar. The case highlights the rising competition in the group messaging market. Read more »
I recently wrote that Google had passed on an opportunity to signal a stronger defense of Android during its earnings call. Today, Google reiterated its plans to defend Android and let loose a broadside attack against competitors who are targeting the operating system with patent suits. Read more »
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The effort to solve New York’s engineering talent crunch is coming to the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in a major recruiting event hosted by Next Jump and the NYSE. The event will bring together 500 top East Coast engineering students and 50 companies. Read more »
Sensory’s TrulyHandsfree Voice Control 2.0 software recognizes and responds to dozens of keywords and phrases and lets people perform actions without the need for a button press. It enables a much more natural interface with a device that can be listening for an array of triggers. Read more »
The more I see of American Express, the more I think it stands a chance to be a major player to watch in the local deals market. If AmEx can execute, it could show many of the deal companies how commerce, loyalty and offers are done. Read more »
The world is going LTE but the availability of spectrum in different countries and regions is fragmenting the 4G wireless standard internationally, according to research from Informa Telecoms & Media. That is posing a challenge for manufacturers looking at which bands to support in their devices. Read more »
Trying to keep up with mobile data costs will be a mighty challenge for network operators, who are looking at delivery costs going up by sevenfold to $370 billion by 2016, according to Juniper Research. Read more »
The way people have been talking about near field communication, digital wallets and carrier billing, you’d think consumers were ready to embrace mobile payments. But Consumer Reports said consumers may not be as excited about paying for goods with their phones, nor should they be. Read more »
The big news lately in local deals is around public offerings by Groupon and LivingSocial and the rising competition from web players like Google and Facebook. But a much older player, American Express, is also activating local deals through social channels. With 90 million card members ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Foursquare is now poised to rev up its revenue engine by eventually charging merchants to offer deals and access its business tools. Foursquare co-founder Naveen Selvadurai told the New York Post that the company is planning to charge its more than half a million merchants. Read more »
Google has snapped up The Dealmap, an aggregator of nearby shopping deals, in an acquisition that furthers its Google Offers ambitions. The purchase, whose price was not disclosed, shows that Google is proceeding even without its unsuccessful $6 billion bid for Groupon last year. Read more »
American Express’ Serve digital wallet is on a roll lining up carrier partners. Verizon announced Monday that it will support Serve payments on many Verizon smartphones and tablets in the coming months, allowing people to pay for online and offline goods by entering their phone number. Read more »
Android, despite some mounting legal challenges in the marketplace, is flying higher than ever, according to Nielsen, which said Google’s operating system is on about four out of every 10 smartphones sold in the U.S. Apple, meanwhile, reigns as the top manufacturer. Read more »
The mobile app landscape has been changing for developers, away from a simple pursuit of pure downloads. It’s increasingly about building up a following of users who come back to an app. But what is a loyal app user and how much do they cost? Read more »
Despite growing competition from ReadItLater, which just raised $2.5 million, VC-backed Scribd and Apple, Instapaper’s Marco Arment is sticking to his now outside funding stance. He said even with the added company, he can make Instapaper work by focusing on his niche and executing. Read more »
Azumio, a mobile health startup whose first app, Instant Heart Rate, was downloaded 8 million times, has just raised $2.5 million from Founders Fund, Accel Partners and Felicis Ventures. It shows that there’s a lot of opportunity ahead in mobile health applications. Read more »
Smartling, a New York City-based start-up focused on enabling websites and apps to go multilingual, has raised $10 million to ramp up its localization tools. The company offers crowdsourcing tools for websites and apps to quickly and easily add additional language support. Read more »
ThinkNear caught my eye at the New York TechStars demo day with its data-driven approach to solving problems for local businesses. The company announced on Tuesday that it raised $1.6 million from investors to help roll out their technology, which hits New York Tuesday. Read more »
Jumio, a secretive online-payments startup created by Jajah founder Daniel Mattes, is finally ready for its close-up. And it’s a fitting metaphor, because Jumio is enabling online credit card payments made by scanning a card with a computer webcam. Read more »
HTC said it’s open to negotiating with Apple to settle a pitched patent fight between the two companies, but it’s unclear how willing Apple is to talk and how much HTC can extract from negotiations. My guess: Apple’s not in a cooperative mood. Read more »
Mobile in-app purchases have eclipsed paid downloads as a revenue driver for mobile developers. But how much is that worth? Flurry said the average in-app game transaction is worth $14, which speaks to the importance of reeling in what casino’s call whales, or big spenders. Read more »
The future of coupons is moving toward digital and mobile, something that startup SavingStar is taking full advantage of. The company told me it has hit half a million users since it launched its ecoupon product in April, putting it on a faster pace than Groupon’s. Read more »
The FinTech Innovation Lab, an accelerator program for financial tech startups, graduated its first class on Friday. This first batch of companies is bringing some impressive ideas to bear on data, analytics and payments and showing there’s room for new approaches in the financial sector. Read more »
Fresh off its $50 million in funding, note-taking and memory service Evernote is preparing for its first-ever developer conference next month, where it will outline its broader strategy and how it plans on becoming a 100-year company by building a productivity platform. Read more »
Next Jump spent 15 years in stealth mode before it emerged as a power player in the employee discount and rewards business. It is now taking its experience and assets to step up as a potential powerhouse in the local deals market. Read more »
While tech darling Square gets all the press, mobile payments start-up Dwolla is enjoying its own impressive growth and just hit $1 million in daily transactions, putting it on a faster initial pace than Square. It’s showing the power of building a cash-based payment network. Read more »
The iPad for the first time is now being activated more often than Android smartphones, according to Good Technology. The enterprise software maker said the iPad accounted for 27.2 percent of all activations in the second quarter ahead of Android phones at 24.4 percent. Read more »
ZestCash, a next generation loan-service for the underbanked led by former Google CIO Douglas Merrill, has raised $19 million to expand its data-driven approach to offering short-term loans. The company uses online data to help determine the credit worthiness of customers. Read more »
American Express, a 162-year-old financial services company, is marshaling its vast resources in pretty impressive ways to create what could be one of the strongest offerings in the local commerce space. The company said it’s just getting started with partnerships with Facebook, Foursquare and SCVNGR. Read more »
We just wrote about the growth of social network MyYearbook, who has been on a tear as it emphasizes mobile, engagement and games. Well, the company got the attention of Latino social network Quepasa, which is buying MyYearbook for $100 million. Read more »
Affectiva, a Massachusetts start-up spun out of the MIT Media Lab, has nabbed $5.7 million in Series B funding to help it pursue technology which helps recognize and measure human emotions. The company sees big opportunities in helping companies understand and gauge how people are feeling. Read more »
Isis, the carrier led near NFC mobile payment platform, revamped its approach this spring in favor of a more open system that invited credit card companies to join its digital wallet. Today, Isis announced that it’s signed up Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover as partners. Read more »
If Android’s mounting patent issues are a concern, Google chairman Eric Schmidt isn’t letting on about it. He dismissed the growing patent issues as “legal fun” at a Google mobile event in Tokyo and called out competitors for their propensity to litigate instead of innovate. Read more »
App ratings have always been a key tool for mobile developers to get their apps noticed. But with the increasing competition in app marketplaces as well as the decline of some distribution tools, there seems to be renewed focus on app reviews and ratings. Read more »
American Express is showing it has designs on being a big player in the daily deal market. The company is introducing a new social platform called Link, Like, Love, that will bring American Express deals to Facebook users through their social graph. Read more »
Gigwalk’s mobile temp work app is proving there’s a vibrant market when you bring together corporate clients looking to complete local tasks with iPhone-wielding mobile workers. The app has racked up a more than 128,000 “gigs” since May and now counts Microsoft Bing as a customer. Read more »
A new consumer survey found that Apple has slightly widened its preference lead among smartphone owners preparing to buy a handset in the next three months. It shows that expanded distribution is helping the iPhone sell and become more of an option for more consumers. Read more »
Exent is launching the first subscription mobile gaming service for Android called GameTanium Mobile, which allows users to gain Netflix-style all-you-can eat access to more than 75 games for $4.99 a month. It’s another sign that gaming on Android is improving. Read more »
The ITC has ruled that Android manufacturer HTC has infringed on two Apple patents, handing the iPhone maker an early victory that could have large implications on HTC’s business in the U.S. and potential impacts on the overall Android platform. HTC is appealing. Read more »
Google CEO Larry Page addressed a question about what Google’s plans regarding Android’s patent situation, but generally side-stepped the query, pointing to Android’s momentum before finishing with a modest commitment to the platform. It seems like a missed opportunity to signal support to manufacturers and developers. Read more »
