Mobile workforce startup Gigwalk has raised $6 million in Series A funding to build out its marketplace for temporary mobile-based jobs. The company is expanding its relationship with Microsoft and also has a new CEO. Read more »
Already, workplaces are changing because of trends like BYOD and gamification. But other emerging technologies are also altering what our workspace looks like and how we collaborate. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Despite its current decline, RIM is a different firm today than it was in 2007, with new management, a full awareness of its shaky position, an upcoming OS release and a number of lingering advantages that can still be leveraged. Here’s how it just might survive. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
With the growth of sensors and microelectronics, the potential uses of wearable-computing technologies now reach to health and fitness, gaming, fashion, disabilities and augmented reality. Most importantly, the widespread adoption of wearables will drive the form function and market for mobiles in vital ways. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
After 14 years as the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, Nokia has lost the top spot to Korean rival Samsung. The question facing the Finnish company’s bosses now is whether they can ever regain the momentum they’ve lost. Read more »
Worldreader has already distributed over 75,000 e-books to students in sub-Saharan Africa. Now the literary nonprofit is launching an e-reading app designed for basic mobile phones. Read more at paidContent »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT combine to create another force that overwhelms IT departments: complexity, including complexity of devices and applications, physical and virtual computing environments, and related challenges for IT staff. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT are changing the game for IT departments. Section one of our three-part report describes and quantifies each of these trends, demonstrating that they are real now, growing rapidly and perilous to ignore. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
For the 1.4 billion people on the globe without access to electricity, off-the-grid solar isn’t about sticking a PV panel on a rooftop — it’s about getting electricity where there isn’t even a grid to be “off of.” And thanks to efforts from wireless carriers, startups ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The mobile payments industry can learn a lot from Starbucks, which has seen tremendous success with its year-old payment app for iPhone and Android. But very few players can match Starbucks’ brand recognition or customer demographics, and no one should expect to replicate its success. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
This year’s CES was the biggest in the show’s 44-year history. It boasted 15 miles of exhibit hall aisles, 3,100 booths and 153,000 attendees. It is easy to be jaded by the endlessly repetitive products, but the thousands of innovations point toward a future of connectivity. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The most highly anticipated initial public offering in today’s tech world is officially happening. Facebook filed S-1 documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday afternoon to raise a maximum of $5 billion. According to the filing, Facebook made $3.7 billion in revenue in 2011. Read more »
If you’re like many of us, you’re already thinking over some New Year’s resolutions that will make you a better “you” in 2012. But how are the tech industries’ thought leaders approaching the new year? We asked 12 of them for their resolutions. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
It is not a surprise that when you walk and text, you see a massive drop in viewing your surroundings, but did you know that when walking and texting or talking on the phone at the same time, your speed of walking declines by 16 percent? Read more »
According to one maker of a waterproof microscopic film technology, we might see waterproof devices among the next generation of mobile phones, and Apple could be at the fore of this movement. The revolution could come without big trade-offs in physical design. Read more »
The number of mobile subscribers is growing steadily across the globe, but each continent tells a different story about 3G and 4G penetration, market saturation and the rate of future growth. This report looks at the global mobile landscape over the next five years, forecasting the number of subscribers and the penetration of 3G and 4G services by both continent and country. In particular we look at new markets such as China and India, possibilities in developing countries in Africa and the Middle East, and saturation in the first world. Companies mentioned in this report include HTC, Motorola and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Every year, IBM comes up with a list of five innovations it believes will become popular within the next five years. For 2011, it has come up with the following technologies it thinks will gain traction. I also look back at some of its previous predictions. Read more »
British supermarket chain Asda conducted a survey and found parents were increasingly using technology as a form of in-home intercom with their kids, calling them to dinner or telling them to do homework. One in five used gadgets to communicate with children inside the home. Read more »
Connectivity changes everything. That’s the credo driving just about every corner of our day-to-day lives. As human beings, we are now connected to one another through not just our social networks but also our cars, the books we read, the albums we download and even our own health and wellness habits (to name just a few areas). With that in mind, GigaOM Pro has singled out certain areas in the technology industry where we see this shift to constant connectivity taking place most drastically. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
China Telecom is moving ahead with plans to pursue an MVNO service in the U.S. starting next year. A China Telecom executive said the branded cellular service will start early next year and will target tourists and travelers who fly between China and the U.S. frequently. Read more »
Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth thinks Ubuntu Linux has a shot to be a contending operating system for future phones and tablets. It will be a tough go: Apple iOS and Google Android dominate the field now, with new Windows Phone 7 also making a play. Read more »
It was pretty clear that Samsung would eventually overtake Apple in terms of smartphone sales, and this past quarter, that happened. But Apple also slipped in the overall phone sales category, beat by a rival that could be more of a long-term threat: China’s ZTE. Read more »
Apple was granted new ammunition with which to fight the rampant counterfeiting of its products that is an ongoing problem in China. It was granted 40 patents in China, according to a new report Wednesday. The patents mostly cover aspects of its mobile phones. Read more »
Martin Fichter, the acting president of HTC Americas, got onstage on Monday at the Mobile Future Forward event in Seattle for a discussion about disruption in the mobile industry and a little old-fashioned trash talk aimed at Apple’s iconic phone. Apparently, the kids don’t want it. Read more »
Twitter CEO Dick Costolo lifted the veil on Twitter user statistics Thursday morning. Besides revealing the company’s active users, he talked about features it’s working on, the expansion of promoted tweets, and why he’s “excited” that 4 out of 10 active users don’t tweet. Read more »
Increased competition and the emergence of mobile societies in Brazil, China and India, along with the introduction of flat-rate plans in the U.S., have resulted in a big jump in call volumes on mobile networks between 2001 and 2010, a report finds. Read more »
Four out of five people are aware of the terms “personal cloud” or “digital locker” according to a new survey. But consumers want such services to be secure, convenient and they don’t want to pay a lot for them. Surprised? Read more »
It’s become clear in recent years that smartphones are going to be increasingly ubiquitous for the foreseeable future. And a recent study indicates that many people are using those devices to access Facebook more often than for, really, anything else. Read more »
Apple CTO Tim Cook and CFO Peter Oppenheimer sat down with RBC Capital Markets analyst Mike Abramsky on Wednesday, and according to the analyst, the executives conveyed that Apple’s key motivator for getting into the lower-end smartphone market would be to provide a “category-killer” experience. Read more »
IT managers now face a new challenge in the enterprise: the significant presence of a new generation, the Millennials, in today’s digital workplace. These young employees were born in the 1980s or later; they were raised with ever-present mobile phones and ubiquitous online access and social media, and they often demand access to those services and devices while at work. This report, the first in a two-part series, surveys Millennials about their use of technology at work, with a particular focus on how they communicate and learn and what they expect in regard to technology support. We aim to assist IT and tech-support management by pointing out the opportunities Millennials present and also the potential pitfalls. Companies mentioned in this report include Facebook, Google and Twitter. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Daniel Ek, co-founder of Spotify talks to me about Apple, Android and his service on consumer devices and in cars. More importantly he shares his vision about the company and what he wants it to be when it grows up in a couple of years. Read more »
A new data and visualization project called the Connected States of America helps bring some focus into the way mobile phones facilitate communications and shows how conversations and text-messages bind areas and regions together, even ones that are far apart. Read more »
With patent lawsuits flying around the mobile business like never before, it’s easy to get lost in exciting headlines about billion dollar settlements. But the reality is that the industry is playing a game of mutually assured destruction that could strangle the world’s most exciting technologies. Read more »
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 »
Earlier today Nokia stock hit a 13-year-low. Despite what CEO Stephen Elop says, it is hard to reconcile the falling share price with what is arguably the hottest mobile market. The funny thing is that as a company they shouldn’t have been in this position. Read more »
Israeli startup Ineze thinks it can go where dozens have struggled, and create a better way of searching for products to buy online. But what can it do that they can’t? Understand what you’re actually looking for, says CEO Gil Rozenberg. Read more »
Applications represent a gigantic leap forward in terms of mobile functionality. They have opened up new ways of accessing data, connecting to services, and interacting with people. Why, though, are mobile applications so dumb as to what is going on in the rest of your phone? Read more »
Startups in the long-simmering QR code market are hoping that the change in season, along with what they say is a “critical mass” of smart phones, will finally bring QR codes, barcodes that lead to URLs or information when scanned, into the mainstream. Read more »
Smartphones are remaking the lives of their male users, according to a new survey from Spike TV. The study found men are unabashedly in love with their smartphones, a borderline addictive relationship that has empowered and also distracted men in both small and profound ways. Read more »
