Daily Marauder

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Mobile Web usage is still a nascent activity, but comScore put out some data on the information-consumption habits of consumers in the U.S. The number of people who access news and information daily on their mobile phones doubled from 10.8 million in January, 2008 to 22.4 million in January, 2009. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/16/daily-news-habit-doubles-among-us-mobile-users/ 3/16)

The big news out of SXSW over the weekend (besides AT&T‘s poor network coverage in Austin) is the launch of Facebook Connect - the social network’s technology for sharing data between Facebook and other apps – for the iPhone. The integration will allow developers to build or adapt existing applications to share data with users’ profiles including rich media such as photos. Even developers of popular applications like shakeable restaurant review app Urbanspoon have trouble gaining market share due to the sheer explosion of competitors. Now Urbanspoon users will be able to easily share their reviews with friends in their Facebook feeds, exponentially increasing the ability for apps to grow virally. More than 6,000 websites now utilize Facebook Connect to integrate with the 175 million-member social network. (Cynopsis 3/16)

fbFund, a $10 million seed fund focused on supporting entrepreneurs who are building their business around Facebook.com or with Facebook Connect, is now accepting applications for its third funding round. The fund, which is backed by Facebook, Founders Fund and Accel Partners, is shifting its focus to funding Web and iPhone app developers leveraging Facebook Connect. In the past, fbFund focused on the broad spectrum of successful and promising applications built on the Facebook Platform. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/16/facebooks-fbfund-is-accepting-applications-for-iphone-apps/ 3/16)

Makers of personal computers have begun invading the turf of mobile-phone manufacturers as they have rushed into developing phones that combine the power of PCs and the mobility of cell phones, industry observers noted. “The action is really with the smartphones where everyone is competing to cram the most features into a phone,” said chip analyst Linley Gwennap, head of the Linley Group. “I think of PCs as just kind of boring these days.” The New York Times (3/15)