Browsing recent App Store releases, I came across Minecraft – Pocket Edition, with a version 1.0 update. Thinking it might be a major update to Mojang’s smash hit, I clicked through — only to find a completely different app trying to lure customers who aren’t paying… Read More »
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MasterCard is rolling out the first trial of its QkR mobile application, which allows people to interact and initiate payments via QR codes, NFC tags and other technologies. It is allowing Australian movie goers to order and pay for food from their seat. Read More »
Some good news and bad news for the beleaguered battery maker Ener1. On Thursday, the company announced it’s filing for Chapter 11 in New York, but has done so under a pre-arranged restructuring plan that includes commitments for up to $81 million from investors. Read More »
Nokia’s smartphone sales were down 31 percent in the final quarter of 2011 as the company’s switch to Microsoft’s Windows Phone continues. But one million Lumia’s sold to date is a good start, and Nokia is delivering on its transition plans, which gives it a chance. Read More »
Is the rise in independent work contributing to the rise in inequality? We asked this question last week. One expert who responded feels he has an answer, based on his firm’s research on the question and a reminder that correlation does not equal causation. Read More »
Airbnb has topped 4 million total bookings over the past year, showing huge growth for a startup that’s just about five years old. it also shows the idea of apartment sharing and collaborative consumption in general is catching on, as the company expands internationally. Read More »
The AT&T-Mo saga wasted countless dollars and resources, dominating the attention of regulators and the wireless industry for a year, but AT&T’s failure more than made up for those losses. We now have more fearsome regulation and a greater awareness of the mobile market’s precarious competitive… Read More »
Music subscription service Rhapsody is going to Europe, but not under its own name. The company will use the Napster brand in the U.K. and Germany to compete with Spotify. The company announced the acquisition of Napster’s foreign assets three months after it bought Napster USA. Read More »
Netflix now has close to twice as many streaming subscribers than DVD subscribers, according to its most recent financial statement. And with DVDs declining rapidly, the company has to look elsewhere to finance any further international expansion. Plans to go abroad are completely nixed for 2012. Read More »