“Cloud first” markets — those where companies’ first serious engagements with information technology are in the form of cloud computing — are beginning to emerge. For the BRIC economies in particular, this might mean a chance to adopt low-cost solutions that will give companies a clear ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Apple’s iPhone 4S has propelled Cupertino’s smartphone share back to growth in many markets, including Britain, according to new data from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech released Thursday. But Apple’s latest smartphone isn’t leading to runaway success everywhere, owing in part to economic concerns. Read more »
Recommendations have become the holy grail of the social web, sparking competition between small services like Pinterest to Amen and large ones like Facebook and Google+. So how can Italian website Circleme elbow in on the action? Read more »
The extent of corruption in Russia’s technology industry has been revealed by a survey which says as much as 60 percent of payments made are bribes. Is that a stark warning for startups wanting to tap into a lucrative market — or simply the cost of operating? Read more »
Cloud-based presentation service Prezi kicked up a fuss when it offered a dynamic alternative to dreary formats. Now, two years after launch, the Hungarian startup has scored a serious round of funding to take the battle to PowerPoint. Read more »
London startup Transferwise wants to be the Skype of currency exchange, disrupting existing services that charge customers heavily for moving their money. But can its low-cost, peer-to-peer approach really succeed? Read more »
Swedish banks are fighting off rumors of financial difficulties amid reports that online rumors led to a $29m bank run in Latvia over the weekend. But was it really a Twitter-induced panic? Read more »
Some of Europe’s leading investors gathered in Italy last week to discuss the problems and opportunities faced by startups across the continent. But what did they actually think? And what does it mean? Read more »
Hulu is getting ready to dust off its Lederhosen as the company is reportedly working on plans to launch in Germany. The launch would consist of an offering that would be different from what’s available in the U.S., which suggests Hulu might ask Germans to pay. Read more »
Brightcove VP Rags Gupta explains why music start-ups should test the waters across the pond before coming to the U.S.: “According to conventional wisdom, consumer start-ups should move to San Francisco for access to capital, talent, and ideas. But if you’re launching an online music company, consider London or Berlin.” Read more »
More evidence, if it were needed, that Europe is increasingly becoming a mobile-centric culture, with figures showing that France’s smartphone market has grown 34 percent in the last year. Read more »
PC shipments were down in Western Europe, dropping over 11 percent during the third quarter of 2011 vs. the same period a year ago, according to Gartner. But Apple bucked the trend and saw a nearly 20 percent increase in shipments year over year. Read more »
Netflix will launch in the U.K. and Ireland early next year, but where is it going after that? A recent job offer revealed a number of candidates, including countries like Korea, Germany, Russia and France. Now all Netflix needs is profits to make those plans happen. Read more »
Twitter has made the world faster with its real-time messaging. But what if it’s not actually real-time enough? Enter Bonfire, a new browser plugin that promises to bring IM-style chat and presence into Twitter itself. Read more »
Everyone in flash sales seems to be having problems right now, from Groupon to Gilt. But the new boss of the American spin-off from Europe’s pioneering Vente Privée explains why things will be different for him. Read more »
The tablet market is growing rapidly — but it could be getting even more of a boost thanks to the growing number of operator subsidies on offer. The latest? A series of cut-price deals aimed at France’s large student population. Read more »
The frozen reaches of Siberia’s biggest city might not be the first place you’d go to look for the next generation of technology companies. But that’s precisely where Northern European accelerator Startup Sauna has gone in the search for new talents and ideas. Read more »
London-based Seedcamp is already a significant force in early stage investment: but now it’s come out all guns blazing with a series of partnerships across Europe and America that it hopes can secure its reputation as one of the world’s leading incubators. Read more »
Russia’s biggest online commerce company, Ozon, is about to get bigger thanks to a huge injection of cash and ambitious plans to take its business to the next level. But is it biting off more than it can chew? Read more »
While the U.S. mobile operators are starting to compete over 4G speeds, Europe’s transition to next generation networks has barely begun. It’s a situation that turns the stereotype on its head — and highlights mistakes made 10 years ago by operators in Germany, France and the UK. Read more »
It seems totalitarian states like Egypt aren’t the only ones struggling with the impact of social media and the desire to muzzle services like Twitter and Facebook. Britain says it’s considering a ban on social media in the wake of the riots in London. Read more »
Meet Demet Mutlu, the 30-year-old founder and CEO of Turkey’s top fashion site, Trendyol. She’s used to breaking boundaries at home, but her latest achievement could be among the most important — confirmation that the site is Kleiner Perkins’ first investment in Turkey. Read more »
In our fourth and final installment of the GigaOM Euro 20, we bring you the Wild Cards. Five companies that don’t fit the mold — some are surprising, some are risky, and some are largely unknown. Read more »
Apple has been granted a preliminary injunction by a German court, which will effectively prevent the sale of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 in all countries belonging to the European Union, save the Netherlands. Samsung can still appeal the decision in a few weeks. Read more »
In the third part of GigaOM’s Euro 20 roundup, we’ll look at five of the startups we’ve dubbed Almost Famous. They’ve weathered the storm, come out the other side, and have solid products to offer. Read more »
The market for photography apps and photo sharing services is crowded beyond belief, ranging from trendy startups like Instagram to heavily-funded monsters such as Color. So why does Berlin-based EyeEm think it can make an impact? And can it succeed? Read more »
There are hundreds of promising European startups that lie just below the surface of success waiting to break out. For our second installment of GigaOM’s Euro 20, we chose five of these. Here are the ones to watch. Read more »
The average European startup might struggle to get the same attention as the latest hot prospect outta Silicon Valley, but some of Europe’s biggest names are famous across the globe. In our first installment of GigaOM’s Euro 20, we chose these five startups as Super Stars. Read more »
For years, Europe’s startup community has been painted as the undernourished younger cousin of Silicon Valley. In reality, Europe’s web scene is now thriving. and we’ve compiled a list featuring some of the best and brightest European web startups — what we’re dubbing the GigaOM Euro 20. Read more »
Europe’s venture-backed startup industry is generally seen as smaller and less successful than its American equivalent. But new data collected by one group of German investors suggest that, pound for pound, Europe’s VCs might turn out to be a much better bet. Read more »
GigaOM readers agree that encouraging European entrepreneurs is vitally important to the long-term health of local startups. But they have differing opinions about the sharp growth of accelerator programs and bootcamps across the continent: will startups end up being fed to the sharks? Read more »
In the last year Europe has witnessed an explosion of accelerator programs, with more and more launching all the time. But while it looks like good news for entrepreneurs, some worry whether the continent can really support such a glut of activity around startups. Read more »
Criterion Capital Partners is announcing Wednesday that it has bought SeeSaw.com, a site that aspired to become U.K.’s Hulu but was close to being shut down just six weeks ago. SeeSaw’s past is troubled, but Criterion is nonetheless willing to make a bet on its future. Read more »
A little over a month after European authorities took down the popular movie streaming site Kino.to, two similar sites have emerged — and each claims to be the official heir, with one accusing the other of stealing its content. Pirates that steal stuff? That’s unheard of. Read more »
Swedish company 13th Lab, a Stockholm-based startup has been working on its own augmented-reality-like system for the iPad that uses a complex computer vision technique employed by NASA. 13th Lab is looking to turn the technology into a platform that developers can use for AR. Read more »
The midnight sun, harbors, beautiful fjords, and water, lots of water: That’s what millions Norwegians have been watching since the local broadcaster NRK started its 135 live stream of a fjord cruise last week. NRK is also using BitTorrent and live streaming for the show. Read more »
Twitter has filled out its European team with another two executive positions based in London, but its focus on sales and marketing prompts the question: can foreign markets be anything more than just another chance to score big advertising dollars? Read more »
The Spanish company behind Rojadirecta.org has sued the U.S. government, the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for seizing the domains of its website. Rojadirecta was used to trade links to live sporting events, but its former owners say the sites were legal. Read more »
It didn’t take long for hacktivists to respond to the takedown of the popular video streaming portal Kino.to: Activists affiliated with Anonymous responded on Thursday with a denial-of-service attack against the web site of a rights holders group. Insiders meanwhile believe that Kino.to will return soon. Read more »
New figures from analytics firm Flurry suggest that mobile users across Europe’s biggest markets are ravenously hungry for apps — and that even despite high smartphone adoption around the continent, there is still plenty of room for further growth in the coming years. Read more »
