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gigaompromasterimagemobile

As our demand for data increases, so too do the number of mobile devices and services. Add to that the infrastructure needed to support such connectivity, and a wide, complex picture of the mobile industry emerges. This report examines the various sectors of the mobile landscape and what the future holds for each. Hardware, cloud services, mobile search, advertising, location-based services and the growing ubiquity of the Internet of Things will all play an important role in the concept of mobility as it shifts and evolves over the next several years. With the help of more than a dozen contributors, GigaOM Pro presents a comprehensive analysis of the companies and trends that will lead us into the next era of mobile. Read more at GigaOM Pro »

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nfc-phone-payment

In a matter of hours, Facebook is going to host f8, its annual developer conference. By now we have all heard everything that is coming at the event. Sources say Facebook will make some sort of announcement around NFC technologies at the event as well. Read more »

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Safely_landingpage_crop

Location Labs has built a solid business with its location-finding and texting-while-driving prevention tools. Now, the company is taking its idea of family security one step further by launching a Facebook online monitoring tool, which will now be part of a suite of software safety tools. Read more »

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Screen shot 2011-09-12 at 12.25.27 PM

Gowalla, like many other check-in services, has had trouble keeping pace with Foursquare. But the location startup is relaunching its service with an eye toward becoming more of a city travel guide, downplaying the role of check-ins in favor of discovery, travel and storytelling. Read more »

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01whereareyou

Echoecho, a Los Angeles–based startup, lets people request location updates from friends in their phone address book, who can decide whether to respond with their coordinates. The company announced Thursday that it has raised $750,000 in seed funding from Google Ventures and UK-based PROFounders Capital. Read more »

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wherephone-scene

The Pew Internet Project found that 28 percent of American adults use some form of mobile and social location-based services to get directions, recommendations or check into a location. But Pew found that only 4 percent of adults use their phones specifically for check-ins alone. Read more »

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Localmind pic

Social questions apps are normally used to find out the real-time status of a location, like “Is that bar crowded?” But during Hurricane Irene, users of Localmind were finding even more practical uses, with questions like “Is it safe to go surfing right now?” Read more »

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gowalla

As location-based services grow up, we’re seeing that games are not the appealing part of location and increasingly it seems like start-ups are acknowledging that games are tough to build a business on. Gowalla seemed to acknowledge that by killing its virtual items feature today. Read more »

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Screen shot 2011-08-19 at 6.51.12 AM

Foursquare has increasingly shifted its sights from the present to the future, looking at how it can help recommend relevant places where people should go. But we’re seeing that the location-based network is also finding a lot of opportunities in leveraging the past. Read more »

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foursquareevents_2

Foursquare has talked about evolving beyond the check-in, but that doesn’t mean the check-in is dead. Now the location-based social network is adding event check-ins for locations featuring movies, sporting events and concerts. Event check-ins automatically tell people what you’re doing, not just where you are. Read more »

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target money feature size

Foursquare and Yelp are moving into more direct competition, feature by feature. On Monday, Foursquare launched a new feature that allows users to create lists of the places they’ve checked into or plan to visit, bringing it further into the review and recommendation space. Read more »

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redbox thumb

Beginning next week, Redbox users will be able to get discounts on rentals when they check in at kiosks on Foursquare. For the location-based service, it’s one way to grab new users who don’t already share where they are, and introduce them to new places. Read more »

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Screen shot 2011-08-01 at 12.59.11 PM

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 »

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TapIn screenshot3x2

A startup called Tackable has launched a mobile “crowdsourcing” app for the San Jose Mercury News called TapIn that allows the paper to ask readers to submit photos and tips about news events, and also allows it to pitch them on Groupon-style location-based discount offers. Read more »

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dennis crowley-cropped

More than 10,000 developers behind some of the hottest mobile apps are using Foursquare’s application programming interface to tap into its location and places database, the company said Friday. The most popular apps running on Foursquare’s API include Instagram, Tweetdeck and Gowalla. Read more »

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planetfoursquare

Foursquare is no longer a US phenomenon – the company is beginning to see some rapid growth in highly mobile societies and the newest one to join the party is Brazil which like Indonesia represents future growth for services like Foursquare. Brazil is already hot for Foursquare. Read more »

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googleplusfeature

I’ve been playing with Google+ on my Android handset to get a sense of what it has to offer. The verdict: Google made some thoughtful decisions for mobile users for the Google+ service overall, but Huddle isn’t as intuitive as other group texting platforms. Read more »

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dennis crowley-cropped

Foursquare has raised $50 million in a new funding round led by venture capital firm Andreessen-Horowitz, bringing Foursquare’s total venture capital investment to just over $70 million. The new backing will certainly come in handy as Foursquare works to keep its own edge in a growing space. Read more »

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shopkick

Shopkick, a location-based deals and reward shopping app, is going local, offering merchants free hardware that integrates with its loyalty service. In a deal with Shopkick investor Citi, the company is offering free installation of Shopkick signal boxes at 1,000 stores owned by local merchants. Read more »

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Rovio wants to take Angry Birds local by enhancing game play for users when they visit real-world locations. The feature builds off an NFC feature for certain Nokia phones, and unlocks new levels when users tap their phones together or tap in at a location. Read more »

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wherephone-scene

Though they’re still emerging, location-based services are expected to bring in $10 billion in revenue from consumers and advertisers by 2016, according to research firm Strategy Analytics. The biggest chunk, just over 50 percent, will come from location-based search advertising. Read more »

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cliptrail anyclip foursquare

AnyClip has partnered with Foursquare to launch a scavenger hunt around New York City. The Clip Trail promotion, which went live during New York’s Internet Week, leverages QR code stickers in various locations and unlocks video clips and gives users a chance to win movie passes. Read more »

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Who here is your audience?

People have created a web of connections online through social networks. But a new wave of apps are looking to help people create spontaneous connections when people arrive at specific locations, giving rise to temporary social networks that are built around a place and a time. Read more »

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GNow Groupon Purchase[16]

The next step for location-based service is discount offers that find you where you are, something we’re starting to see more and more. The latest example is a new partnership between Groupon and Loopt, which will bring Groupon Now limited time offer alerts to Loopt users. Read more »

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Screen shot 2011-05-18 at 9.13.15 PM

Shopkick is taking its audio check-in technology to television in a new deal with the CW that will allow Shopkick users to unlock deals when they use their app during commercials. The partnership shows how Shopkick can help brands connect their broadcast commercials to local transactions. Read more »

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loopt-who_s_around

Location-based services are still traveling a long road toward mainstream adoption but the growth of smartphones and acceptance by women appear to be helping accelerate the rise of check-ins and suggest location services could have a bright future ahead. Read more »

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Screen shot 2011-05-09 at 2.53.36 PM

LocalResponse is taking location data from check-ins and combining it with implicit location information gathered from social status updates to create a targeted marketing platform that lets businesses reach consumers in real-time wherever they are. Today, they’re rolling out the engine for national brands. Read more »

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ipadusers2

For a very long time, technology industry’s future has been determined by the capabilities of tech’s building blocks – chips, memory, storage and networks. With the emergence of social and mobile, it seems technology’s future will be defined by we the people. Read more »

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gap-groupon

More than almost any other national brand, the Gap has been on the cutting edge with its marketing trials, working with Facebook, Groupon, Foursquare, Visa, JiWire and others to figure out how to craft its image and message for a much more social and mobile audience. Read more »

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For Silicon Valley startups, good timing can be just as crucial as good technology. Just ask Bunchball, the six-year-old, San Jose, Calif.-based, social gaming, software startup. In 2005, when the company debuted its software platform, the current industry buzzword “gamification” hadn’t even been coined yet. Read more »

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Android-Doll-540x3372

While the focus on handset location data has been focused largely on Apple recently, new internal Google memos that emerged yesterday illustrate why the search company is also very serious about collecting Wi-Fi data through its Android handsets. Read more »

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