There are reports the giant social network is taking another run at building a dedicated “Facebook phone.” But is this a clever strategic gamble on the future or an expensive bet that takes the company beyond its core competencies and is doomed to fail? Read More »
Patent troll Lodsys became infamous after it extracted a license from Apple but then turned around and sued small iOS app developers for including features like “in-app purchase” in their products. Read More »
The ongoing patent battle between the dominant smartphone providers, is about to get its prime-time drama moment, when the CEOs of Apple and Samsung will reportedly be brought before a U.S, federal judge for mediation on Monday. Get ready for Law & Order: Silicon Valley. Read More »
Facebook has been criticized recently for its lackluster performance as an advertising platform, but the giant social network has other ways of monetizing its vast user base that could have even more growth potential — including Facebook Credits. Could it become a networked version of PayPal? Read More »
Welcome to the concept of the superstack — which acts to circumvent the openness that the Internet and the digitization of content has enabled and once again lock consumers into a single platform for their content determined in part by the hardware they choose. Read More »
Facebook says it is launching an app store that will allow people to get access to social apps on the network, without much heavy lifting. The company made the announcement in a blog post today. The company is hoping that the new app store will make … Read More »
Publishers saw the iPad as a chance to turn back the clock and convince consumers to pay for content in a new form. But that dream has collided with reality, and now some content producers — including MIT’s Technology Review — say the standalone content app … Read More »
Microsoft”s $300 million investment in Barnes & Noble’s Nook business gives it a piece of an ebook reader also-ran. But this is far from the first time Microsoft enlisted a B list ally to attack a recalcitrant market. Read More »
Microsoft and Barnes & Noble are teaming up to take on Amazon and Apple. The $300 million investment in the Nook subsidiary of Barnes & Noble gives Microsoft about 17.6% ownership of this business unit and values it at about about $1.7 billion, more than … Read More »
When people are defensive they can do things that are emotional, not reasonable, and bad behavior starts.
Silicon Valley investors Roger McNamee on Google
Book publishers argue that Amazon is a vicious monopoly that has too much power over them and their content. But they need to realize they gave Amazon much of that power themselves when they agreed to shackle all of their books in DRM chains. Read More »
Apple says it had to cut an agency-pricing deal with publishers in order to weaken Amazon’s monopolistic control over the e-book industry. But wait — didn’t Apple behave exactly the same way towards the record labels as it is accusing Amazon of behaving towards book publishers? Read More »
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Smashwords says its internal data shows that the agency-pricing model — which is the subject of a federal antitrust case against Apple and the major book publishers — doesn’t mean higher prices for e-books. But does that mean the Justice Department’s case is irrelevant? No. Read More »
Best Buy will close 50 stores, while also expanding the number of smaller concept stores where customers can go to try devices and talk to expert staff members. The shift in strategy is one that we’ll see across much of retail in the future. Read More »
Author J.K. Rowling has chosen to do a number of interesting things with the launch of the e-book versions of her Harry Potter series. While not everyone wields as much power as Rowling, there are lessons other book publishers should learn from what she is doing. Read More »
Debates over apps vs. the web and the value of Google’s new personalized search features are just part of the larger battle between the open web vs. walled gardens and closed platforms — but what if users don’t care? What does that mean for the web? Read More »
MOG, a streaming music service has been subject of acquisitions rumors, with phone maker HTC as the likely buyer. The really low valuation shows how far behind it has fallen behind current industry leader, Spotify, which ironically is being valued at a breathtaking valuation. Read More »
Now that Apple has showed it plans to spend some of its massive $100 billion cash holdings, some argue it should acquire Twitter as a way of bulking up its social features. But just because it could buy Twitter, does that mean it should? Read More »
A new survey of consumers in the U.K. and the U.S. found that one in 10 people would consider banking with Apple, and 43 percent of existing Apple users would. Banking would be a stretch for Apple though a mobile payments service could be possible. Read More »
If you are in business, it is always about the customer. Simple as that message is, it is something of a forgotten lesson in modern times. Companies keep confusing who they serve and why they are in business, as an outgoing Goldman Sachs banker reminds us. Read More »
The ultimate outcome of the Department of Justice’s case against Apple and five major book publishers over alleged price fixing and collusion in e-books is unknown, but it seems obvious that prices are likely to go down — and that could be a good thing for … Read More »
The rise of the app economy and new platforms has triggered a sharp increase in startups. For the new startups, the world needs a new kind of a VC model, argues Tero Ojanpera, a former Nokia executive and the man behind a new investment fund, Vision+. Read More »
Apple’s decision to reject an e-book by Seth Godin because it contains hyperlinks to books in the Amazon store is just another example of how the oligopoly that controls the market for e-books is turning the landscape of reading into a walled garden. Read More »
Facebook is gearing up to take advantage of the mobile web and put itself at the head of a growing web app ecosystem. Today, it announced a set of initiatives that should help standardize mobile web browsers and enable better payments in mobile web apps. Read More »
Martin Geddes thinks the telecom industry has reached its peak. As he explains, telecom is like the railroad business at the height of the railroad barons. It has acquired its maximum share of the economy, and the only way now is down. Read More »
Even at first glance, one can see that Apple’s new OS, Mountain Lion, is unifying the user experience across its different devices and platforms. But it is a step in the right direction for what the OS for the Internet Age should be. Read More »
Apple’s decision to unfriend Facebook has turned out to be a boon for third-party social services that are now finding their way into Apple operating environments. The biggest winner of them all is Twitter which gets a big boost from the upcoming OS X Mountain Lion. Read More »
Apple on Thursday released a developer edition of Mountain Lion, the next upgrade of it’s operating system that will go on sale sometime in summer this year. As part of the news, the company shared some metrics about OS X Lion (version 10.7). … Read More »
For the past week or so, the Internet has been abuzz with news of mobile apps uploading iPhone address books without asking us. The controversy highlights the fact that social and web apps need to have the moral imperative to do the right thing. Read More »
We’re entering the age of the smart personal assistant, as computers increasingly listen and understand what we’re saying and fulfill our requests in real time. Siri and Watson have gotten a lot of attention but we’ll see this type of service in a variety of areas. Read More »
Well-designed websites and snazzy mobile apps aren’t just for travel search engines anymore. JetBlue Airways just debuted its own native app for the iPhone, along with a redesigned website. It’s a sign of how web startups and new apps are spurring innovation from bigger travel companies. Read More »
Former iPhone marketing manager Bob Borchers tells students how Steve Jobs originally approached the iPhone team with the challenge of building the iPhone, a device that to date has sold 183 million units in less than five years. Read More »
Swedish iOS studio Toca Boca has become a hit with parents and kids around the world, thanks to its smart suite of simple, open games. Now it plans to open a U.S. office and target the American market in 2012. Read More »
RIM has announced it has replaced co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie with Thorsten Heins, the current COO. The change was necessary but Heins will have to make a clear break from RIM’s past performance, which at least initially he doesn’t appear anxious to do. Read More »
Shazam, best known for its music tagging app, is now rolling out its first new app, called Shazam Player, a free app that replaces the iOS music player and provides a deep set of features including lyrics, social sharing, smart playlists, bios and more. Read More »
If the latest data is to be believed, the battle for high-end smartphones is essentially a tussle between Apple and Samsung. With China’s ZTE’s and Huawei’s aiming for the lower end of the business, is there is room for HTC, LG, Sony or Motorola? Read More »
Apps are, at the end of the day, very personal pieces of software. And your favorite mobile app isn’t mine. So we decided to poll the staff here at GigaOM to see what apps changed our lives in 2011. Read More »
It wasn’t just here in the U.S. and it wasn’t just iPhone users; the mobile app obsession has gone global and is now bigger than ever. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting statistics involving the abundance of mobile apps we devoured this year. Read More »
As the year winds down, here’s a look back at the biggest, most significant things that happened in the apps we use on our smartphones and tablets this year, as well as the most important themes to watch out for come 2012. Read More »
Mainstream mobile users have been slow to embrace location-based services. But location apps could really see a boost through the smart use of voice activated AI systems like Siri, which can help users more easily unlock the world around them. Read More »
By keeping e-book prices high, the Big Six book publishers are not only getting less money from their books in many cases, but they are also fuelling piracy and pushing readers away — all of which is giving Amazon even more ammunition to use against them. Read More »
Forrester CEO George Colony reignited a minor firestorm recently by saying “the web is dead” and the app ecosystem is replacing it. Others, however, argue that the open web has benefits that apps do not have, and that losing these features would have serious consequences. Read More »
Despite the confident words of Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who predicted that Android would be the primary platform for developers, the current trends are still decidedly leaning toward iOS. Mobile analytics firm Flurry found that developers are picking iOS over Android by a 3-1 ratio. Read More »
Most venture capitalists obsess on the latest shiny object for youngish consumers. That’s remarkably shortsighted. The aging U.S. population is a potential gold mine for entrepreneurs that can build technologies to help this huge population remain active and stay in their homes as long as possible. Read More »
After launching a little over three years ago, Android Market has caught fire with downloads, hitting 10 billion over the weekend. Google’s mobile application store is now up to 1 billion downloads a month, and growth is accelerating as the number of Android devices sold soars. … Read More »
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