The Yandex.Store will be preinstalled on various Android devices being sold in Russia and other core Yandex markets, and offered as a whitelabel store to carriers in the rest of the world. Read more »
Mobile operators have treated Skype as a threat for years. Now they’re going to profit off it by allowing customers to buy Skype Credit directly through their phone bill or pre-paid allowance and taking a cut. Read more »
Mail.ru is quitting its ambition of building a Russian Twitter, having failed to build sufficient scale. Instead, it’s aiming to consolidate its ownership of a leading social network. Read more at paidContent »
Russia’s new internet blacklist agency is busy naming “illegal” sites ISPs must block. But the government says search engines should not be blocked for pointing to those sites with excerpts of illegal content. Read more at paidContent »
Russia’s new internet blacklist may not be the only force threatening available of Google’s business in the country. If new reports are to be believed, Mail.ru also wants to stop using Google’s search service. Read more at paidContent »
Browser maker Opera launches a music service in to a Russian market that badly needs legal options, whilst iTunes Store’s debut is reportedly shelved. Read more at paidContent »
Russian TV broadcasters are beginning to cooperate to ensure one site can become the go-to video portal. But Videomore doesn’t yet have 100 percent partner coverage. Read more at paidContent »
In Russia’s fast-growing internet scene, Mail.ru is successfully marshalling its diverse arsenal of social network and game services to attract paying users, while its social advertising prospects turn down. Read more at paidContent »
TechCrunch’s CrunchBase has become a repository of information about tech startups. Now a Russian outfit wants to replicate the model, connecting investors with Russia’s fast-growing scene for a monthly subscription. Read more at paidContent »
Around the world, rival services are gobbling up emerging markets by rebadging Google’s software. Yandex is the latest, with its own Chrome-based web browser and alternative Android app store. Read more »
Internet Explorer can’t catch a break in Europe. On the day the EC says it will charge Microsoft over browser bundling non-compliance, Russian web service Mail.ru launches its own rival software. Read more »
With no iPhone 5 support and multiple competing variants, mobile payments may be having an evolutionary emergence toward what many expect will be a revolutionary disruption. But, already, NFC helped process 4.5 billion rubles’ worth ($138 million) of mobile payments in Russia in the first six […] Read more »
Double Robotics’ iPad-eqipped telepresence robot is the first beneficiary of the $25m fund Grishin announced earlier this year. His cash will help Double ramp up manufacturing, which will be useful as early demand has been high. Read more »
Russian video aggregator ivi.ru is raising $40 million more. The money will be used to license TV and movie content, as investors hope decreasing piracy and willingness to pay for content can make for success. Read more at paidContent »
Russia’s lacklustre music market desperately needs strong legal digital services. Now Apple may be about to play that role, finally launching in the country, according to reports. Read more at paidContent »
Umpteen hardware and software brands are re-making Android in to their own mobile operating system, scrubbing any trace of Google. Russia’s government could be the next to jump aboard. Read more »
Here’s our daily pick of stories about Apple from around the web you shouldn’t miss. Today’s installment: Apple’s market capitalization is now the highest of any company ever, Apple responds to SMS security report, how the iPad is outgrowing the iPhone, and Apple’s moves in Russia. Read more »
A protest against Russian proposals to block websites deemed illegal has brought out the web’s big beast, after the bill was passed by the lower house of the country’s parliament. Read more »
The Russian internet market has seen a lot of activity over the past year, but now there’s some data that proves exactly how much more is happening. And what do the stats say? That dealflow was up more than threefold between 2010 and 2011. Read more »
Mail.ru CEO Dmitry Grishin isn’t happy being one of Russia’s most successful internet entrepreneurs: now he wants to help a new generation of robotics companies, and is launching a fund with $25 million of his own money to try and kickstart a more ambitious future. Read more »
Moscow-based search engine Yandex is hoping to steal a march on international rivals with a new music subscription app for the iPhone — but it’s gambling that users will be ready to stump up cash for the service in a country where paid-for digital music is […] Read more »
A flurry of reports suggest Facebook is interested in buying Israeli image recognition startup Face.com. But reports from Moscow suggest the rumor mill could be turning because Russian search engine Yandex wants to sell its stake in the firm to Mark Zuckerberg. Read more »
Facebook’s rise has come on the back of astonishing international growth — but it needs to keep expanding everywhere, and in every way, to keep up with investors’ expectations. Where can it find the silver bullet? And how will it happen? Read more »
Russia’s leading social network, Facebook copycat vKontakte, loses an appeal against a copyright conviction – is that an opportunity for Mark Zuckerberg in Moscow? Read more at paidContent »
Ten years ago, Plastic Logic looked like it had all the elements in place to become a world-beating startup. Now it’s ditched its attempts to become a household name and decided to focus on licensing its technology instead. So where did it all go wrong? Read more »
Russia’s government has commissioned the building of a system which would let copyright owners identify unauthorised use of their works online. Read more at paidContent »
Russian investor Yuri Milner plans to sell $1.5 billion of Facebook stock when the company goes public later this month — making more than a billion in profit. But it’s Silicon Valley that should be thanking him, not the other way around. Read more »
Russia’s online listings market could be about to explode, and investors want a piece of it. The latest beneficiary is a Craigslist-style site that also wants to be like eBay. Read more at paidContent »
One Berlin startup has just discovered it has a Russian twin with the same layout, business model and even the same name — a surprising situation, given that Germany is better known for being the copier rather than the victim. Read more »
Russia’s most popular search engine, Yandex, has lost a significant chunk of its market share over the past year — but announcing a 50 percent increase in profits for the first quarter of this year, CEO Arkady Volozh says there’s still lots of room to keep growing. Read more »
Another Russian company looks set to list on the London exchange — this time the country’s second-largest mobile operator, MegaFon. It follows Mail.ru, which used London to become a real force in the technology industry. What makes the British capital so alluring? Read more »
With $32m in the bank, French professional networking site Viadeo is expanding internationally — and the head of its Chinese operation says that the company is expecting to go head to head with Reid Hoffman and LinkedIn. Read more »
French business networking site Viadeo has long played second fiddle to LinkedIn. But with a fresh round of funding in the bank, the company plans on becoming the world’s leading player thanks to growth in countries like China, Russia and Brazil. Read more »
One of the most disruptive aspects of social media is that it allows newsmakers such as politicians to reach an audience directly, instead of going through traditional channels. This is changing the relationship between sources and the media not just in the U.S. but everywhere. Read more »
The stereotype of Russia as a haven of copyright infringement could be a thing of the past, after officials in Moscow said they were considering holding internet providers liable for illegal filesharing that takes place on their networks. Read more »
The music industry is battling to stop piracy through Russia’s largest social network so that it can turn the country from a digital backwater in to a top music market. vKontakte, which is often called a Facebook copycat for its similar features and design, includes built-in […] Read more at paidContent »
Russian web incubator Fast Lane Ventures is developing a reputation for building big businesses fast, with the sale TV channel Shopping Live — its second significant exit inside a couple of months. Read more »
PayPal has only taken tiny steps into the increasingly busy Russian market — but now the American payments service is working on a partnership with Russia Post that could prove a dramatic boost. Read more »
Russia is now Europe’s largest Internet market — but it’s still a daunting and confusing place for startups. But as the CEO of young, successful incubator Fast Lane Ventures, Marina Treshchova,may have a few answers on how to do Russia right. Read more »
