Jason Ankeny
Juniper Research
Yankee GroupShazam for iPad redesign adds auto-tagging; Foursquare hones search capabilities
Mailbox expands to iPad, Android in the pipeline
Mailbox, the buzzed-about messaging app acquired by Dropbox in March, is expanding native functionality from Apple's iPhone to its iPad tablet with the release of its latest update.
Amazon Appstore for Android opens worldwide as Kindle Fire sales go global
Amazon's Appstore for Android is now open for business in close to 200 additional nations across the globe, an expansion timed to coincide with the worldwide rollout of the digital commerce giant's Android-powered Kindle Fire HD tablet.
Facebook vows Home improvements, halts U.K. launch of HTC First
Facebook said it is retooling its much-maligned Home launcher for Google's Android, promising significant improvements directly inspired by consumer feedback.
Why Walmart poses a major threat to the mobile payments hierarchy
It's been roughly nine months since more than a dozen leading U.S. retailers including Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Sears and 7-Eleven first banded together to create Merchant Customer Exchange, a nationwide mobile commerce network designed to support smartphone-enabled purchases, consumer offers and mobile marketing promotions. The MCX initiative remains a work in progress, but here's what we know.
AppGratis rebounds from Apple's App Store ban with Android launch
Weeks after Apple ousted AppGratis from its App Store for iOS, the mobile application discovery and deals service has resurfaced on Android, launching a free application available for download from the Google Play digital storefront.
Square kicks off overseas expansion with Japanese launch
Square is launching its mobile payment processing network in Japan, its first expansion outside of the North American market. Square took its first international steps in fall 2012, rolling out services in Canada.
Microsoft revamps YouTube app for Windows Phone to appease Google
Microsoft has updated its YouTube video application for Windows Phone a week after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Google demanding the app's removal.
Report: 72% of users now use multiple messaging services
Seventy-two percent of US users now use multiple messaging systems on a daily basis, according to a new report from Acision. However, while alternatives to SMS like IM and over-the-top mobile messaging services are gaining ground, 72 percent of users are still dependent on SMS.
Pandora, Facebook team for music sharing, discovery app
Pandora is extending its partnership with Facebook with the launch of its new Timeline App, which allows registered users to publish their music listening activity to their Facebook Timeline.
Clueful privacy app resurfaces on Android following App Store ouster
Close to a year after Apple removed the Clueful privacy tracking application from its App Store, developer Bitdefender has relaunched the service via Google's Android platform.
Could Yahoo's Tumblr acquisition be the next Instagram?
This week, Yahoo confirmed it would be acquiring visual micro-blogging platform Tumblr in a deal worth $1.1 billion, one of its largest acquisitions to date. The deal is already drawing comparisons to Facebook's $715 million acquisition of Instagram, and it is easy to see why.
Rumor Mill: Apple's iOS 7 bringing deep Flickr, Vimeo integration
Apple's forthcoming iOS 7 overhaul will integrate third-party social networking services including Flickr and Vimeo, mirroring efforts to bake Facebook and Twitter into previous versions of the mobile operating system, 9to5Mac reports.
AT&T rolls out multi-platform AdWorks Blueprint audience targeting effort
AT&T introduced AdWorks Blueprint, an audience-targeting initiative that combines anonymous data from the operator's mobile, online and TV users with insights from third-party data providers to help advertisers deliver more relevant messages.
Pinger: Our ARPU is 64-65 cents per month
LAS VEGAS--Messaging provider Pinger earns an average of roughly 64-65 cents per month from each of its users, primarily from advertising. Greg Woock, Pinger's co-founder and CEO, provided the figure during a discussion here at the CTIA Wireless 2013 trade show about the effect over-the-top messaging providers are having on wireless carriers' traditional voice and messaging businesses.
Boost Mobile launches Android-based mobile wallet
Sprint Nextel prepaid brand Boost Mobile launched an Android-based mobile wallet service powered by Wipit that will let consumers load cash to their wallet, pay their bills, top-up their account, transfer funds and send money to other countries. In addition, customers will get a reloadable Visa prepaid card that is linked to their mobile wallet account.
AT&T initiative will make APIs available to enterprises
AT&T is working to make more of its API catalog available to enterprises so that business customers can then develop products and capabilities that will benefit their customers. This new API initiative will be unveiled in early 2014.
MessageMe tops 5M users in first 75 days, closes $10M funding round
Seventy-five days after launching, over-the-top chat application MessageMe reports that its registered userbase already tops 5 million worldwide.
Facebook simplifies content sharing within iOS apps
Facebook introduced Share Dialog, which makes it easier for users to post status updates, tag friends and share location data within applications optimized for Apple's iOS.
Yahoo revamps Flickr for Android, offers free terabyte of photo storage
Yahoo unveiled an overhauled version of its Flickr photo-sharing application for Google's Android mobile operating system, offering all users a free terabyte of storage.
