There are very few analysts who make the tech industry stop and listen. Mary Meeker is one of those analysts, and on Wednesday she delivered one of her trademark presentations touching on the global economy, the mobile opportunity, and Facebook’s unprecedented IPO. Read more »
Apple has cleared a regulatory hurdle in China for selling a 3G device there. But what is it? The latest iPhone and older iPads are already available, but the newest iPad is still a question mark. Is this a sign its Chinese debut is near? Read more »
70 years ago Bletchley Park in England was home to a team of computer pioneers who were breaking Nazi ciphers to try and win the war. This weekend, it’s playing host to a different generation of geeks as Europe’s largest mobile hack day prepares to land. Read more »
Research In Motion pre-announced news that it continues to face on-going challenges in the smartphone market and expects an operating loss this quarter. RIM is looking to J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and RBC Capital Markets to determine how to best proceed during its challenging transition. Read more »
The founders of micro-payment service Flattr have said they are worried that their business could be seriously damaged after Apple rejected a podcasting app that integrated with the system. Read more »
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 »
Although the majority of API attention has centered on consumer Web services, an emerging cadre of startups are focused on infrastructure and business processes. Robin Vasan, managing director at the venture capital firm Mayfield Fund, gives an overview of the potential infrastructure categories and disruptive companies. Read more »
I’m starting to use iPhoto for iOS more often in my photography workflow. While it’s unlikely it’ll ever fully replace a true post-processing program like Aperture or Lightroom, for shots that don’t require that high degree of editing I find iPhoto for iOS to be suitable. Read more »
Apple continues to introduce features to its app stores meant to better surface quality apps. It recently introduced two more, including a new Editor’s Choice label and a free app of the week. But it’s clear more needs to be done. Read more »
We collect a lot of stuff online — photos, check-ins, likes, tweets. But a lot of time those things are scattered all over several sites or social networks. The guys behind Kullect have a cool idea about how to keep it all in one place. Read more »
Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Wordpress and Automattic, said at paidContent 2012 that the service is preparing for a significant change of direction — by releasing a much simpler version designed to work on mobile. Read more at paidContent »
SnipSnap, a new Philadephia start-up, is giving people a way to take a picture of a printed coupon with an iPhone app and display it at check-out. The app help consumer unlock a lot of the value in printed coupons that go to waste over time. 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 »
Foodspotting is putting great services offered by Yelp right into its social food-finding app: reviews, as well as OpenTable reservations and menu pages from Single Platform. Plus: Restaurants will find more informative dashboard pages and users will see far more data on their profile pages. Read more »
Mounting evidence suggests Europe’s mobile operators are becoming increasingly censorious, thanks to haphazard adult content filters that are applied to millions of users. The result? De facto, unregulated censorship that screens out thousands of legitimate websites, including GigaOM. Read more »
ISwifter is showing how it can create a full-fledged Facebook app that also includes Flash gaming. TheWorx iPad app, a Facebook application that is set to go live next month, will provide users with access to status updates, their news feed and photos and also gaming via an App Hub. Read more »
After just three months of operation, France’s disruptive Free Mobile — which has upset the market with an innovative and controversial offering — has won 2.6 million subscribers, an unprecedented number for a new European launch. Read more »
How many apps on your phone do you use on a daily basis? Moving your product from a novelty to a habit is tricky, but Localmind CEO, Lenny Rachitsky thinks he’s found a way to make it happen and open up in this video interview. Read more »
American Express has been using social channels such as Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter to deliver offers that can be synced to a user’s card account. But up until now, there wasn’t one place to find and get recommendations on all those offers. Read more »
The appointment of Ross Levinsohn as CEO is a sign Yahoo wants to focus on media as the core of its rebirth, but does the company have what it takes to succeed as a new-media entity? There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Read more »
Instead of focusing on Mark Zuckerberg’s hoodie, investors and analysts should pay more attention to what Facebook flagged in its latest securities filing: that its mobile business is underperforming on the ad-revenue front and it doesn’t really know whether it can fix it. Read more »
Apple’s controversial nano-SIM card design is on display at CTIA in New Orleans this week. Reports indicate that the European telecom standards group that Apple has offered its design to royalty free, is currently voting on whether to choose it or a competing design from Nokia. Read more »
We know device makers are making money off of this trend. But how do mobile app makers cash in on this ballooning market of upwardly mobile consumers? The short answer is: make iOS apps. The longer answer: Make really well-designed free, ad-based Android apps. Read more »
Statistics suggest that a third of Draw Something‘s active users have deserted the game in just a month — bringing into question Zynga’s actions and judgment since deciding to purchase maker OMGPOP for $200 million. Read more »
Boku, one of the leaders in carrier billing, has finally signed a direct billing deal with Sprint, giving it direct integration with all four major U.S. operators. The broad coverage should make it more appealing to merchants and open up potential sales of non-digital goods. Read more »
Verizon and Comcast are now selling their cross-network bundle of mobile and broadband services in six new markets. The U.S. Department of Justice may well find that their cross-selling pact anti-competitive, but Verizon and its cable partners aren’t stopping until they’re told they have to. Read more »
A Madrid-based mobile advertising network is taking investment to challenge big U.S. competitors. Read more at paidContent »
France’s mobile market has been upset by the innovative approach of Xavier Niel’s low-cost operator, Free. But after an initial boost of customers, rivals say the company’s growth is slowing. Is its momentum in danger of draining away before it’s even really started? Read more »
Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile group, is buying its fellow British firm Cable & Wireless Worldwide to — making a huge payday for chief executive Gavin Darby, who only joined at Christmas… after quitting Vodafone. Read more »
Stephen Elop’s mission to turn Nokia around will face some more tough questions after the company posted a $1.8 billion loss for the first quarter of 2012. With mobile phone sales falling off a cliff, is there any way for the company to pull things back? Read more »
Facebook confirmed that it has acquired customer loyalty service Tagtile, which helps merchants distribute rewards, offers and coupons to in-store customers via their phones. The deal follows the acquisition of Instragram this week and it shows that Facebook is looking at shoring up its mobile needs. Read more »
This is a victory for Motorola: Not only did the judge agree that an earlier injunction granted against Apple’s cloud e-mail services should be upheld, Apple was also ordered to pay Motorola unspecified damages, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Read more »
In attempting to showcase its rich history of NFC, Nokia has actually managed to outline everything that’s gone wrong with the company over the past few years. Will it ever really understand what’s happened to it? Read more »
A recent survey found the vast majority of photo enhancing and editing is done on a computer: just 15 percent of smartphone owners take and edit photos on their mobile device. This is good news for the growth opportunities of Instagram and other mobile photo apps. Read more »
Hyperlocal mobile advertising is at a critical juncture: Leading analysts predict that mobile ad spending will increase by more than five times between 2011 and 2015. But what are the forces at play, and how effective are HyLoMo ads? Read more at GigaOM Pro »
European regulators say they are opening two investigations into claims of patent abuse by Motorola Mobility — which could put the company’s $12.5bn acquisition by Google in jeopardy. Read more »
Things look a little different around here today. Early on April 3, paidContent moved to a new platform. Here, we tell you what stays the same and what’s moved to help you get your bearings. Welcome to the new paidContent. Read more at paidContent »
A mobile platform is only as strong as its app line-up, which in turn relies on the co-operation and keenness of app developers.
But lookin… Read more at paidContent »
With Apple and Nokia at each others’ throats over control over the upcoming nano-SIM standard for mobile phones, the ruling body that was set to decide between them has instead postponed its vote for at least a month. Read more »
The Wall Street Journal (NSDQ: NWS) is running a 24-hour “Digital Open House.” For today, all subscriber content on the website, mobile site… Read more at paidContent »
