Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, Apple App Store, Cellular network, Cox Communications, iPhone, Nokia, Time Warner
The Samsung SGH-a877 Impression is now available from AT&T, featuring a full keyboard and the first commercially available 3.2-inch AMOLED touch-screen display. The phone will also include a 3-megapixel camera. It retails for $199.99 with a 2-year contract and a mail-in rebate. MobileBurn (4/7) , IntoMobile (4/7)
Nokia Executive Vice President of Markets Anssi Vanjoki says that in 2010, high-end phones will include QVGA screens, a 5- to 12-megapixel camera comparable to standalone digital cameras, touch-screen input and GPS access. All these features will become commonplace in mobile devices by 2013. The New York Times/GigaOm (4/7)
(Below) In an iPhone world, the brand is not as important as utility. I certainly see ‘fun’ as something which falls within utility. Publishers who attempt to make apps whose only function is to advertise the brand will find themselves falling short of expectations.
No apps from publishers like the New York Times or broadcasters like CBS appear in the top 25 downloaded apps in the Apple App Store, where external developers launch programs or tools for iPhone users, says a report by comScore. Games dominate in Apple apps. (Iwantmedia 4/8, http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/content_display/news/digital-downloads/mobile/e3i877cb25050675ce95d66a8ae78d066d6 4/7)
Cox Communications, the U.S. cable operator, plans to start a wireless service this year. Cox is building its own cellular network — a strategy that contrasts sharply with that of its peers, Comcast and Time Warner. Cox could attempt to exploit the nascent mobile video market. (Iwantmedia 4/8, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123915134035899477.html 4/7)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: Android, App Store, Apple, Facebook, Google, iPhone, ITunes Store, Yahoo! Messenger
Popular social gaming developer Zynga
has just released Mafia Wars on Apple’s App Store, bringing the company’s incredibly popular game, which has over 9 million monthly users on Facebook alone, to the iPhone. You can grab the free game here (iTunes Link). (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/07/zynga-brings-smash-hit-mafia-wars-to-the-iphone 4/7)
Google has launched a new Gmail mobile web app for the iPhone and Android-powered devices. The app has been revamped to have the same look and feel as your desktop Gmail. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/07/mobile-gmail-becomes-more-like-its-desktop-father 4/7)
Yahoo Messenger now has an iPhone app (iTunes link). It lets you IM your friends, see their status, share photos, share links, choose emoticons, and see recent conversations. It also lets you send free text messages by choosing a contact’s mobile phone number if they are not online. Replies come back to the app, which could save you a dime each time. (http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/07/yahoo-messenger-brings-free-text-messaging-to-the-iphone 4/7)
Just in time for the playoffs, Turner Sports’ NBA Digital launched the NBA Game Time mobile app on the Android Market for the T-Mobile G1. The free app offers live game scores, stats and schedules. NBA Playoff brackets will also be featured through a free upgrade just before the start of the postseason. (Cynopsis 4/7)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, iPhone, Microsoft, Microsoft Windows, MSNBC.com, NBC Nightly News, Rachel Maddow Show
Invites have begun to trickle out for a March 17th Apple event, at which they’ll be debuting iPhone OS 3.0. It has been about 8 months since the release of OS 2.0, and 6 months since Apple missed their self-imposed deadline for push notifications for background applications. (http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/03/12/apple-to-debut-iphone-os-30-next-week 3/12)
MSNBC.com has turned to Transpera to add video to its mobile site including on demand clips from Today, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, Meet the Press, Dateline, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, and The Rachel Maddow Show. (Cynopsis 3/12)
Trying to lure developers to write programs for its planned mobile Windows Marketplace, Microsoft on Wednesday vowed to be more forthcoming and responsive to their needs than rival Apple is. Apple’s wildly successful App Store has set off a chain reaction among hardware and software rivals to establish their own online storefronts. Microsoft detailed its revenue-sharing plans — developers will keep 70% of the proceeds — and said the company would set out “very objective” rules on what types of applications it would accept. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires (3/11) , USA TODAY/The Associated Press (3/11)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, Bluetooth, FremantleMedia, iPhone, iPod Touch, Motorola, Nokia
FremantleMedia is launching a mobile application for “American Idol.” Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users will be able to get videos of the current 13 finalists in a confessional format, along with pictures, news and other content. A $1.99 charge will last for rest of this season. (Iwantmedia 3/10, http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ia82652ffac56b32e53086b350e4801cf 3/10)
With a potential market reach of 50 million consumers — more than double Apple’s base — Nokia is hoping that its Ovi online store can effectively compete with the App Store when it begins selling downloadable mobile applications in May. Nokia says it believes it can lure developers by offering a more flexible and streamlined approval process than its rival has. Reuters (3/9)
Motorola introduced its latest rugged MC55 series handsets Monday as it released a pair of models in a variety of configurations that are aimed at reducing customers’ upfront purchase costs. The MC5590, designed for workers’ indoor use, features Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connections, while the MC5574 also includes GPS and wide area network support. Computerworld (3/9)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, CNET Networks, iPhone, Mobile phone, Nokia, TheStreet.com, Verizon Wireless and Nokia
A new site distributing unauthorized applications for the iPhone called the Cydia Store is due to launch this week, per the WSJ. Founded by 27-year-old doctoral student Jay Freeman, the store is named after the developer’s Cycorder app rejected by Apple’s App Store that turns the iPhone into a camcorder. Disclaimer: running such apps requires users to unlock or “jailbreak” their phones, thus voiding the warranty. (Cynopsis 3/9)
Nokia and Verizon Wireless have started to collaborate to produce a touch-screen handset designed to work on the carrier’s planned 4G Long-Term Evolution network, according to a report from TheStreet.com. Both Verizon Wireless and Nokia declined comment. cellular-news (U.K.) (3/8) , The Street.com (3/5) , CNET (3/6)
The cell phone is the third-most important invention of the past 30 years, according to a panel of eight experts from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, which voted the Internet and computers above wireless devices. The New York Times (3/7)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, Blackberry, Facebook, Google, iPhone, Research In Motion, Yahoo
Apple is under pressure from developers who are selling downloadable iPhone applications in competition with the company’s megasuccessful App Store, according to a published report. To use the unauthorized apps, users must download software to modify the device. An executive at one third-party provider said the software had been installed on 1.7 million iPhones. The Wall Street Journal (3/6)
Would you pay $10 for an entire offline copy of Wikipedia, the crowdsourced encyclopedia of information that you can get on the Web for free? WikiPock
, a Paris-based startup, has compressed the entire English language version of Wikipedia to under 4 gigabytes (not including images), and is selling it for mobile phones. (Iwantmedia 3/6, http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/06/wikipock-will-put-an-entire-copy-of-wikipedia-in-your-pocket-for-10 3/6)
Yahoo is said to be in talks with Vodafone about the distribution of the Internet company’s mobile search product. A deal could make Yahoo mobile search the default software on phones sold by Vodafone across Europe. Vodafone’s deal with Google expires this year. (Iwantmedia 3/6, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a8PTHNIb80cI 3/5)
Research in Motion is inching closer to the launch of its own app store – the BlackBerry App World – stocked with games, social networks, personal productivity application and other gizmos RIM hopes will stave off iPhone envy. In a FAQ posting the company said the store will work with all BlackBerry smartphones running OS version 4.2.0 or higher and that paid apps will start at $2.99. (Developers can price their apps in $1 increments as long as they’re at least $2.99). (Cynopsis 3/6)
Developer MobileTribe unveiled a powerful new app for BlackBerry allowing users to blend data and address books from multiple services including Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, Plaxo, Yahoo and Google. The service allows you to view email, wall posts and friends requests from these social networks as well as view pictures on flickr, Picasa, Facebook, MySpace, Orkut. (Cynopsis 3/6)
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Filed under: WIRELESS | Tags: App Store, Apple, CBS, Hulu, iPhone, StarTrek, Television, TV.com
With its App Store, Apple has succeeded in persuading iPhone customers to shell out a buck or two for information and other content that is available for free on the Internet, a feat that has impressed industry observers, who analyze how the company has created such a business. The New York Times (2/26)
CBS’s TV.com released its first iPhone app powered by Veveo that can play full episodes of a number of TV shows including two C.S.I.’s, NCIS, and the original Star Trek from the Paramount television vaults. One of the cooler features is a tool that enables users to create customized video feeds based on favorite shows, networks or topics. The feeds recommend content based on past viewing habits. (Cynopsis 2/27)
It’s at least worth stating that TV.com has beat Hulu in getting an iPhone application to market. That said, without playing around with it, Hulu focuses on quality rather than presence so I have a feeling that their iPhone app will be a superior experience. Yup, all guess work…but I’d bet on it.
Hip blogging platform Tumblr released its own free iPhone app that builds upon the features of the previously-released third party $1.99 Tumberette app. Features include the ability to post text, photos, links, chat or audio posts directly to your Tumblr blog. (Cynopsis 2/27)
A new report from ComScore suggests that mobile phones may be increasing the overall pie of web surfers or at least that heavy PC users are not necessarily also heavy mobile web users. Those who spend the least amount of time in front of their PCs are 30% more likely to surf the web on their mobile phones. The study also found that 15.2% of “light” PC internet users accessed news and information on their mobile device at least once per week, compared to a lower 11.7% of heavy PC internet users. (Cynopsis 2/27)
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