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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Google Launches Personalized Fashion Shop Boutiques.com”

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Mashable: Latest 29 News Updates - including “Google Launches Personalized Fashion Shop Boutiques.com”

Google Launches Personalized Fashion Shop Boutiques.com

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 05:15 AM PST


Google launched a personalized online fashion shop Boutiques.com, letting users visually search and discover fashion goods as well as create their own fashion boutique.

Currently limited to the U.S. and women’s fashion only (with plans to expand in the future), Boutiques assists you in refreshing your wardrobe with a combination of curated fashion choices from fashion taste-makers and machine learning algorithms. Start with a style, and you’ll see 50 hand-curated items on top, with the rest of the inventory in that style chosen by Google’s algorithms.

Features include the ability to filter searches by genre, silhouette, pattern, color families and sizes, as well as visual search, which analyzes the photograph of a clothing item for its color, shape, and pattern and then returns visually similar items. Boutiques also gives you matching outfit ideas to the right of the search results, and you can complete looks using style rules which suggest items that match.

Boutiques is also available as an iPad application, available for free in the iTunes store.

More About: Boutiques, fashion, Google, online shop, online shopping, shopping

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Hulu Plus Goes Out of Preview, Drops Price to $7.99

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 03:15 AM PST


Hulu’s premium service Hulu Plus, which launched as a preview in July and recently opened up to everyone, is now out of testing period and has a new price tag of $7.99 per month.

Hulu Plus gives subscribers access to all the episodes in a season of popular shows such as Glee, House, The Office, Modern Family, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy and others. It also lets subscribers watch the shows on devices such as the iPad, iPhone, PS3 and (newly added) Roku, with support for Xbox 360, TiVo Premiere DVRs, and many Internet-enabled HDTVs, Blu-ray players and media centers coming in the following months.

Originally, Hulu Plus cost $9.99; current subscribers who joined during the preview period will receive a credit for the difference from the original price, which will automatically be applied to their next billing cycle.

Recently, Hulu shared some impressive stats: 30 million users and an estimated $240 million in revenue in 2010. The price drop for the Hulu Plus service, however, probably means that interest from subscribers was lacking; we’ll see how the service will do at the lower price point.

Unfortunately for folks outside of the U.S., Hulu is still only available in that country, despite recent hints that it plans to expand internationally soon.

More About: entertainment, hulu, hulu plus, video

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Panasonic’s 103-Inch 3D Plasma Could Be Yours for $100,000

Posted: 17 Nov 2010 01:33 AM PST


In 2006, Panasonic launched a 103-inch plasma TV, mostly to induce envious looks of the people who couldn’t afford its price of about $71,000. Now, the company has taken the 103-inch screen size to 3D territory with the humongous TH-P103MT2.

It sports full HD resolution, 500 million-to-one contrast and the usual slew of connectors. One particular tidbit of information about the device caught our eye: if you include the stand, it weighs 321 kilograms or 707 pounds. Good luck trying to move it around your house.

The price, unfortunately, is again cringe-worthy: at 8.5 million yen or about $102,000, not many folks will be able to buy themselves this (very large) piece of 3D heaven.

[via Akihabaranews]

More About: 3D, Panasonic, plasma

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Make an App for Your Small Business — Without Hiring a Developer

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:27 PM PST


The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark. If you would like to have your startup considered for inclusion, please see the details here.

Name: MobiFlex

Quick Pitch: Build your own complex apps without hiring a developer.

Genius Idea: In a world where there’s always “an app for that,” more small businesses see the value in creating their own mobile apps. The technical know-how that is necessary to develop an impressive app and the cost of hiring a professional developer, however, have discouraged the production of many would-be branded applications.

MobiFlex launched a web application last week that allows companies, even those with minimal tech savvy, to create their own iPhone and Android apps. Learning the application requires no coding knowledge and about as much effort as learning PowerPoint.

DIY app creation has been done before, but most of these sites have limited customization options. App creators like AppMakr, iSites and App.Co pull together existing RSS feeds, but allow little functionality beyond that. Sites like Swebapps require that app makers adhere to a rigid structure. And with more than 250,000 apps on in the App Store and AndroLib pegging the number of Android apps at more than 150,000, there’s not a lot of appeal to a compilation of websites that masquerades as an app. MobiFlex brings a new layer of complexity to the game by allowing creators to add back-end data and integrate functions like the phone’s camera, speech recognition and GPS.

The resulting apps might not be topping “most downloaded” apps lists anytime soon, but MobiFlex’s approach does make it easier to create an app that is valuable to a company’s customers or employees. Companies have used the beta version to create useful apps like an IT data center mobile dashboard for field service techs, a coupon-generating campaign app, a store-locator app, and a diabetes patient glucose reporting app.

It’s unlikely that individuals without business motives would use MobiFlex. Although minimal, the learning curve is steeper than some of the other app creation sites. And although the fees might pale to the cost of hiring someone to develop an app, which MobiFlex CEO George Adams puts at somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000, it’s too expensive for a vanity app. After you create and demo an app for free, MobiFlex charges a monthly fee between $2.00 and $4.00 per user or $499 per month for unlimited users.

The company may have made a good move by steering clear of the crowded market for websites that allow individuals to create apps. But it’s too early to tell if the small businesses that MobiFlex is targeting will consider its apps useful enough to add to their monthly budgets or see them as unnecessary expenses.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, onurdongel

Series Supported by Microsoft BizSpark

Microsoft BizSpark

The Spark of Genius Series highlights a unique feature of startups and is made possible by Microsoft BizSpark, a startup program that gives you three-year access to the latest Microsoft development tools, as well as connecting you to a nationwide network of investors and incubators. There are no upfront costs, so if your business is privately owned, less than three years old, and generates less than U.S.$1 million in annual revenue, you can sign up today.

Reviews: Android, App Store, iStockphoto

More About: apps, Create your own apps, DIY Apps, MobiFlex, mobile apps

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Ben Huh: Cats Are Always at the Center of Internet Culture [VIDEO]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 09:06 PM PST

Ben Huh, CEO and founder of The Cheezburger Network, took the stage at the Web 2.0 Summit Monday to deliver a very important message unto the denizens of the web: Cats are key.

Well, that was part of his message — we all know the Internet cache of a cuddly kitty. However, the overall theme of his talk, titled “Internet Culture: What Does It Mean?!?!”, centered on the growing power and influence of culture propagated on the web.

Huh touches on the burgeoning ability of average citizens — those who previously were only able to consume what Hollywood fed them — to create their own spin on current events/pop culture. Thanks to tools like YouTube and Photoshop, Huh says, “They have created a subculture on the Internet populated by viral content and Internet memes.”

During the course of his talk, Huh also made an important — oft-muddled — distinction between viral content and memes. Memes, he says, “give life after its initial life to viral content.” Therefore, that funny cat video that all your friends were passing around last week would be defined as viral content, while the auto-tuned remix of that same video would be deemed a meme.

According to Huh, the creators of such memes are “hacking meaning,” using the media available to them to create multiple viewpoints around the same subject matter. And, in essence, they are the “rock stars of tomorrow,” Huh says. “We are creating our own rock ‘n’ roll — our own generational metaphor for how we view this place,” he adds.

Tell that to your boss that next time you get chewed out for “wasting your time” over on YouTube.

Reviews: Internet, YouTube

More About: cats, humor, i-can-haz-cheezburger, internet memes, pop culture, social media, viral video

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Hands-On With Oprah’s Magazine App for iPad [VIDEO]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 08:26 PM PST


We dropped into app developer Scrollmotion’s offices Tuesday morning to do a hands-on demo with the first iPad edition of O, The Oprah Magazine, the latest of Hearst’s titles to land on the device.

While it’s not nearly as entertaining or interactive as Esquire, another title that Scrollmotion recently adapted to the iPad for Hearst, the results are still impressive — especially given that it was developed in two weeks.

Many of the same interactive features found in Esquire have been replicated in O, such as 3D rotating images and click-to-tab photo galleries. A particular favorite is a photo of a toy helicopter, which quickly begins flying across the page.

Perhaps the most interesting development in the app is its m-commerce integration. The issue’s primary feature is its holiday gift guide, featuring 70 items chosen by various personalities from “the Oprah family,” such as Dr. Oz. Not only are many of the photographs of these products made interactive — thereby drawing attention and engagement to images a reader might have otherwise glossed over — but most can also be purchased from within the app (a feature we also saw, albeit spottingly, in Martha Stewart Living, which was released for the iPad last week).

This is especially effective in the book recommendation section, where users can read excerpts of books before electing to purchase them on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

What’s important is that the shopping integrations don’t make the magazine feel like a store or catalog, but rather strike the consumer as a convenience that saves them the hassle of clipping interesting products from a magazine and searching for it online or in-store.

While O has integrated m-commerce seamlessly, there is still much to be desired in the app. Instead of allowing users to swipe down to explore an article, O has locked each page in full-page mode, making it feel more like a static PDF than an interactive app. The fact that the text is not selectable further cements that impression. The app also lacks sharing features, although Josh Koppel, Scrollmotion’s chief creative officer, said readers will be able to share to Facebook, Twitter and Evernote in future editions.

The app is currently available for $3.99 in the App Store [iTunes link]. For a more comprehensive walkthrough, check out the video below.

Video Walkthrough

Reviews: App Store, Evernote, Facebook, Twitter

More About: hearst, ipad, media, o magazine, oprah, scrollmotion

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More Than 250 Million People Use Facebook on a Daily Basis

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:58 PM PST


Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg just shared that his company has more than 500 million members, and more than half of them use Facebook every day, with growth accelerating thanks to mobile.

Zuckerberg shared this incredible metric with Tim O’Reilly and John Battelle in a panel discussion at the Web 2.0 Summit. The Facebook CEO believes most industries are going to be redesigned around users’ social activity; he used this metric as a foundation for that statement.

Zuckerberg also revealed the company’s recently launched Groups product “has been one of the fastest growing products ever.”

His clear point is that Facebook builds products — Photos, Groups, Messages — that people use more frequently than they use more established services with similar features because Facebook’s products are inherently social. Zuckerberg also stated he believes the company will play a significant role in reforming games, music, music, TV and news verticals going forward.

For companies that are not social, Zuckerberg emphatically told them, “Get on the bus.”

Just yesterday, Facebook revealed its new messaging system. The new Facebook Messages represents Facebook’s vision for reinventing communication with social aspects in focus.

Reviews: Facebook

More About: facebook, mark zuckerberg, social media, stats, trending

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Facebook Acquires Walletin, Gains Two C-Level Gaming Hires

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:50 PM PST


Facebook has made yet another talent grab; this time, the object of its acquisition was still in stealth mode when the deal closed.

The reason Facebook was so eager to acquire Walletin, the startup in question, is said startup’s co-founders. Walletin was started by Cory Ondrejka, who was formerly the CTO of Linden Labs (makers of Second Life), and Bruce Rogers, who was once a coder for Atari before moving on to become CTO of gaming company Cryptic Studios.

So, what will Facebook be doing with two highly experienced, social/video game executives?

While we’re not exactly sure what Walletin was all about, we do know that Rogers and Ondrejka will be “running with it” after their move to Facebook.

From Ondrejka’s personal blog:

During development [at Walletin], we got calls from friends at big Silicon Valley companies. We took those meetings because they came with free lunch, great conversations, and Walletin Global HQ doesn't have air conditioning. We came away smarter for the discussions, but decided it was more fun to keep doing our own thing.

When we met with Facebook, we expected the same result.

Instead we met our people. Engineers focused on getting shit done… The more we learned about Facebook, the more we saw our ideas fitting in. The more we saw an opportunity exciting enough to abandon Walletin Corporate HQ and go into work every day. Ultimately, it was an easy decision and we will both be joining Facebook.

Ondrejka concluded that both he and Rogers are “thrilled by what we're going to do next. It's going to be fun.”

We certainly can’t wait to hear what the two former CTOs will be getting up to at Facebook HQ in Palo Alto. What do you think — is Facebook going to step into the social gaming space in its own right with these two gaming titans onboard?

Reviews: Facebook, blog

More About: acquisition, facebook, walletin

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Mark Zuckerberg on Privacy, Google and More [LIVE]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 05:21 PM PST


Why is Facebook on a product launch frenzy? What does Facebook’s founder think of Google? What is Facebook going to do next?

Mark Zuckerberg, the high-profile CEO of Facebook, has placed his company in the limelight recently with a huge wave of product launches. Facebook Places, Facebook Messages and Facebook Groups all launched within the last three months. It also doesn’t hurt that his company is growing like wildfire and is now worth more than eBay.

Mark Zuckerberg is about to be interviewed by Tim O’Reilly and Federated Media’s John Battelle about Facebook, its new products, the CEO’s view on Facebook’s competition with Google, his vision for social media, and much more. Here are our live notes from their conversation:

Live Notes: Mark Zuckerberg

All times are in Pacific Standard Time

5:07 PM: Zuckerberg takes the stage. Battelle brings up Facebook’s new Messages product and wants Zuckerberg to explain what it is. Zuckerberg says, “We didn’t want to build an e-mail product,” (something he has said many times). He then goes into the anecdote about what a high school student told him about e-mail: It’s too slow and formal. He calls Facebook Messages “seamless.”

5:11: E-mail filters have become very good at winnowing out the real junk, but we still get random e-mails from services and utilities. The real way to solve spam is to use your social graph, Zuckerberg says.

5:13: Zuckerberg says photo tagging works much better than facial recognition. With regard to Groups, he says, “Groups is one of our fastest-growing products ever.”

5:15: There’s a discussion about Facebook’s privacy practices. Battelle asks whether it’s his approach to step on toes until people scream then apologize. Zuckerberg talks high-level and doesn’t really address the question.

5:16: The controversy surrounding Gmail and Facebook contact sync is brought up. Zuckerberg says it’s different, Battelle and O’Reilly say it isn’t, and nobody agrees.

5:22: Battelle brings up competition. He says he thinks Facebook looks like it’s at the point for bringing his business model off-site, à la AdSense. Basically, Battelle asks, will Facebook will launch its own version of AdSense? Zuckerberg: “I think we have a lot left to do. Same on the credit side.”

5:24: Zuckerberg: “I think over the next five years, most industries are going to get redesigned around social and people.”

5:25: More than 50% of people use Facebook every day — that’s more than 250 million people.

5:28: Games are the first vertical to be “tipped” to be social.

5:29: Facebook focuses on helping people share. It won’t start businesses in areas of expertise like media, content, or games.

5:33: Battelle: “Do you believe there is just one social graph? … Do you feel that pressure of power?” Zuckerberg started with discussing how the best apps on Facebook went all-in with social on Facebook. Then he says instant personalization wouldn’t have worked a few years ago because it didn’t have critical mass. Zuckerberg says that there can never be “just one” graph. His view is that Facebook makes all of these graphs more interoperable.

5:38: What about the social graphs that would be detrimental to Facebook as a company? Zuckerberg says it’s fine; he doesn’t seem too concerned.

5:41: Zuckerberg is asked about Steve Jobs and Ping. The Facebook CEO responds on social: “Get on the bus.” Either you’re going to have an incumbent that gets social (Zuck says they’re in on it with Ping) or an entrepreneur will take you down.

5:45: Zuckerberg thinks Facebook is in a good place by having a high user-to-engineer ratio.

5:46: An audience member asks what it’s like to be popular and incredibly important/ahead of other entrepreneurs and how that impacts his life. Zuck responds that he’s made a lot of mistakes but it didn’t deter him. You have 100 problems to deal with, but only one or two really matter, he was told by a VC.

5:50: Is education an opportunity for Facebook? Zuckerberg responds that if someone builds a great application, there’s a huge opportunity.

Reviews: Facebook, Google, Ping, gmail

More About: facebook, mark zuckerberg

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Prince William & Kate Middleton’s Engagement: The Social Web Reacts

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:54 PM PST


The UK’s Prince William and Kate Middleton officially announced their engagement today, dashing the hopes of many 20-something would-be princesses around the world.

Curious as to how the social web was reacting to the engagement, we turned to social media measurement platform Trendrr, which has previously helped us gauge the web’s reaction to events such as Christmas, Obama’s inauguration, New York Fashion Week and, most recently, the rescue of the Chilean miners.

As someone who was personally mourning my destroyed chances, I was surprised to learn that reaction was mostly positive (43%) on Twitter; another 41% of Twitter users responded neutrally to the news; and just 16% of tweets about the engagement were negative. Around 32% of bloggers reacted positively, while most (63%) conveyed a neutral reaction.

Unsurprisingly, those who discussed the engagement tended to be female (61%) and live in the UK. Most of the buzz on Twitter was generated by users from London (greater London alone accounted for 10% of all tweets), followed by Manchester, Glasgow (Scotland), Cardiff (Wales) and New York City. In terms of countries, the UK produced 36% of engagement-related buzz on Twitter, followed by the U.S., Canada, Scotland, Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland.

In a one-hour span in the middle of the day today, 45,000 new news stories were indexed through Google News containing “Prince William.”

Tell us: How did you respond to the news of the couple’s engagement?

Reviews: Australia, Twitter

More About: bloggers, prince william, royal family, Trendrr, twitter

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Meebo Raises $25 Million Series D

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 04:09 PM PST


Meebo has just announced its Series D, which includes $25 million of funding led by Khosla Ventures.

Other investors included Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Sequoia Capital.

Meebo’s been on a roll over the past year, churning out features, launching mobile apps, revamping UIs and attracting major brand advertisers.

In fact, the company’s CEO said in an exclusive interview with All Things D that a full 87% of the company's advertisers in 2009 returned in 2010, and advertising budgets doubled year-over-year. He also claimed the Meebo bar has a 1% click-through rate — ample reason for advertisers to want to invest more in the platform.

Meebo also recently announced a checkin service that’s extremely reminiscent of what GetGlue has been doing for a year or so. This feature was part of what inspired Khosla to invest.

The company just celebrated its five-year anniversary last month. This is Meebo’s first funding since its $25 million Series C in April 2008. All told, this new round brings the company’s funding to $62.5 million.

More About: DFJ, funding, Khosla, meebo, Sequoia, series d

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Twitter for iPhone Gets Push Notifications

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:46 PM PST


Twitter has just updated its official iPhone app to support push notifications for direct messages and mentions. The new app, version 3.2, is available in the App Store [iTunes link], or you can check for updates on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Push notifications for Twitter has been an oft-requested feature — and one that has been rumored for quite some time. Although there have been workarounds for the lack of official push notification support (using third-party apps like Boxcar and Notifo), having official support obviously makes the process more seamless.

Notifications can be configured for each user account you have. You can either turn notifications on just for direct messages or for any @ mention. For mentions, you can choose between just your friends or any mention of your username.

Upon launching Twitter 3.2 for the first time, you will be given the option to turn notifications on or off. If you change your mind or want to adjust your alert parameters, go to Accounts & Settings in the Twitter app (click on the “…” icon and scroll down), then click the Settings button. From there, you can select the Notifications button and adjust your options.

By default, notifications will provide sound, badging and alerts. You can make changes to how you are notified by clicking on the Settings app, choosing Notifications and selecting Twitter. You can then choose to turn badges, sounds or notifications on or off.

At least on my Twitter account, being alerted of a direct message via text message stopped working months ago. Push notifications serve the same purpose — and they don’t cost anything!

Although it would be nice if Twitter considered offering more granular notifications for certain keywords or terms, we expect that the company will let third-party tools cover those scenarios.

Are you excited about push notifications on your iPhone? Let us know.

Reviews: Twitter

More About: iphone apps, push notifications, tweetie, twitter, twitter for iphone

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Facebook Bug Deactivates Many Accounts, Throws Messaging Future Into Doubt

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:22 PM PST


On Monday, we voiced our concerns about the security implications of Facebook’s newly announced messaging service. Today, those concerns take new shape as a Facebook bug has erroneously deactivated a number of accounts on the social networking site.

According to Read Write Web, Facebook has confirmed that a bug that went live today was designed to find and disable accounts that seem fake. The social networking site is apparently working to fix the issue and to get those accounts up and running.

Boy Genius Report says all complaints made via Twitter about deactivation seem to be coming from women, who have been told that their profiles are “inauthentic,” and have been asked to scan and upload ID in order to get their accounts back in action. According to BGR, this is the message users are receiving:

“Please upload a government-issued ID to this report and make sure that your full name, date of birth, and photo are clear. You should also black out any personal information that is not needed to verify your identity (e.g., social security number).

If you do not have access to a scanner, a digital image of your photo ID will be accepted as well. Rest assured that we will permanently delete your ID from our servers once we have used it to verify the authenticity of your account.”

We’ve reached out to Facebook to ask whether this is an official message or not. In the meantime, we suggest holding off on the scan-and-send if you’ve been affected by the bug. All Facebook says that this is indeed a way Facebook confirms accounts, but we still advise you to be careful with your personal information.

In the wake of this bug, we’re apt to look askance at Facebook’s new messaging system, which asks users to group all forms of communication into one platform. If the site wants to truly become a destination for messaging, bugs like this (and past, more egregious bugs) have to be mitigated.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, Antagain

Reviews: Facebook, iStockphoto

More About: bug, facebook, social media, trending

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Yahoo Serves 6 Million Different Home Pages Per Day

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 03:07 PM PST


In a discussion with John Battelle at Web 2.0 Summit, a somewhat subdued Carol Bartz talked about Yahoo’s focus on personalization. The company’s CEO shared an interesting, little-known statistic: Yahoo serves up “6 million [different] front pages per day.”

The stat references Yahoo’s ongoing efforts of customizing content placement for each user. Personalization, according to Bartz, is a big priority for the company.

The customized home pages are configured through a combination of machine learning, data and human manpower, she says. The idea is to give users the type of content they want in the place they want it, and the implementation involves different articles, different ads and different placement. Bartz called this, “real intense personalization.”

Bartz also said that Yahoo was a static entity for far too long. She says that part of the company’s strategy right now is to provide ways for Yahoo users to interact in social fashions.

More About: carol bartz, W2S2010, Yahoo

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Is Esquire’s November Issue Too Sexy for the App Store?

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:52 PM PST


The print edition of Esquire’s November issue, featuring the newly crowned “sexiest woman alive,” Minka Kelly, hit newsstands in mid-October — yet four weeks after it was submitted to Apple for approval, the iPad edition of the issue has yet to appear in the App Store.

The problem? The issue is simply too risque for the App Store, one source familiar with the matter told Mashable. The publication has submitted a revised version it expects to be approved in the next few days, around the time the December issue is slated to hit the App Store.

An executive at Hearst said that Apple has not, in fact, communicated at all to Esquire since the issue was submitted to the App Store, despite multiple entreaties — nor that the publication has submitted a revised version.

Apple has a history of rejecting apps that contain sexually suggestive material. Its App Store Review Guidelines for developers states that “‘explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings’ will be rejected.” This includes — but is not limited to — text, graphics, images, photographs and sounds “that in Apple’s reasonable judgment may be found objectionable…obscene, pornographic or defamatory,” according to the official developer agreement.

Apple has previously purged a number of apps featuring women in bikinis or lingerie, such as SlideHer, an app that challenged users to put together a puzzle of a skimpily dressed actress, and Sexy Scratch Off, which allowed users to “swipe off” a woman’s dress to display her undergarments. Apple was prompted to remove these apps by customers, most of whom were female, Philip W. Schiller, head of worldwide product marketing at Apple, told The New York Times in an interview earlier this year.

Yet apps from bigger brands tend to slide by. Playboy’s iPhone app, which features dozens upon dozens of photographs of scantily clad women, is on display in the App Store, as is Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue.

When the Times asked Schiller why that particular issue had made it into the App Store, he claimed that “the difference is this is a well-known company with previously published material available broadly in a well-accepted format.”

Neither source was willing to disclose what content Apple objected to specifically, but we’re willing to bet some of the video footage of Minka Kelly, which can be found on Esquire’s website might have been the problem.

Image courtesy of Esquire

Reviews: App Store, Mashable

More About: apple, esquire, hearst, ipad, media

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Yahoo’s Acquisition Strategy: Technology, Content and Users (Plus Moms and Babies)

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:50 PM PST


Yahoo has an acquisition strategy focused around three key areas, none of which involve Groupon.

At the Web 2.0 Summit on Tuesday, I asked Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz about the rumor that Yahoo made an acquisition offer to Groupon. I also inquired about the company’s overall acquisition strategy and what type of companies Yahoo is looking to buy. On the first point, she noted that the company launched a Local Offers service that aggregates daily deals from 20+ sources, including Groupon.

She didn’t deny that Yahoo wanted Groupon, but it seems clear that Yahoo doesn’t feel the same pressure to acquire now that it has launched its daily deals platform.

On the second point, Yahoo’s CEO was a bit more forthcoming. She told me that there are three types of acquisitions Yahoo wants to make. The first is to acquire useful technology and technical talent. The second is to acquire content (example: Associated Content). She made it clear that content for moms and babies is preferred because it’s easier to sell to advertisers like P&G. The final reason for an acquisition is to gain new users. Her example was Arabic web portal Maktoob, which the company acquired last year.

These three buckets make sense for a company that is focused on technology, content and media. If you go by Bartz’s acquisition rules though, then the Groupon rumors don’t make any sense. Was Yahoo actually not interested in acquiring Groupon, or was the company the exception to the rule? Only Carol Bartz truly knows the answer.

Reviews: Yahoo!

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Meet the Startup That Helped Spawn Facebook Messages

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:35 PM PST


It turns out Facebook received a bit of help under the hood before it unveiled the newly revamped Facebook Messages on Monday.

Some of the new people brought in to upgrade the new messaging system, as well as some of the IP behind the new social aggregation layer, actually arrived courtesy of startup Zenbe, a company we first profiled back in 2008. Back then, Zenbe was primarily focused on aggregating various social and communications platforms into one interface. Starting to sound familiar?

Back in October, Zenbe officially shut down its webmail component, instead choosing to focus on some of its other social sharing tools. At the time, it seemed unusual that Zenbe would shutter its oldest product. In retrospect, it all makes some sense.

CEO Alan Chung discussed the new Facebook messaging product on the official Zenbe blog, noting, “We here at Zenbe are happy to have played a small role in this: a few months ago, three of our engineers joined Facebook as part of a talent acquisition.”

To be clear — Zenbe itself wasn’t acquired — just some of its engineers and the assets related to the Zenbe Mail product. Zenbe will continue to build new social products, including its upcoming app, Shindig, which will use the Facebook Social Graph to let people share photos with their friends in real-time.

Zenbe Mail is just the latest example of how talent and IP acquisitions make their way into broader Facebook products. Last month, Facebook acquired the IP behind the popular file sharing service, Drop.io, nabbing Drop.io’s founder as a new employee in the deal.

Reviews: Facebook, drop.io

More About: acquisitions, facebook, Facebook Messages, zenbe

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Carol Bartz on the State of Yahoo [LIVE]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 02:14 PM PST


What exactly is Yahoo? After years of turmoil, its dynamic CEO finally has an answer.

Carol Bartz is on stage with Federated Media CEO John Battelle at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco to discuss the state of Yahoo, what it stands for, and where it is going.

Here are my notes from the conversation:

Live Notes: Carol Bartz

All times are in Pacific Standard Time

2:05 PM: Battelle: “What is Yahoo?” Bartz: Largest content, communications, media technology in the world. Um, that’s a mouthful.

2:06: Yahoo’s always stood for those things, Bartz says. She says it went off-track when people thought it was a search company. Search is half of our business.

2:07: “Search is a capital expenditure problem.”

2:10: John Battelle asks about the future of Yahoo. Some people just go for mail or for content, to which Bartz responds “I hope so!” But he continues with his question, though.

2:11: Bartz: “Yahoo stayed static for too long.” She says that Yahoo needs to use its technology to personalize content and make it interesting and educational. To that, you have to understand who they are and what they’re doing. It’s not just about serving different articles, but different placement, different ads, etc. Serve 6 million different combinations of front pages per day

2:14: Bartz and Battelle are bantering back and forth about content some more.

2:17: Bartz calls out all of the photographers on the floor taking pictures. “What are they doing?!”

2:18: Battelle asks Bartz about her view on Google. “We’re not Google. We’re Yahoo.” She doesn’t like the constant comparison between the two companies because she believes they’re vastly different. She didn’t get Yahoo out of search for that reason, but it helped.

2:19: “Social” has been around for a long time. Cavemen were social, she says. Social isn’t owned by one company. Human interaction is social. That’s also e-mail, messenger, interactive ads, interactive websites, etc.

2:22: One of the things Yahoo should have done long ago was accept any login — Yahoo, Facebook, Google, etc. It makes it easier for users.

2:23: Bartz: “I think Facebook is very, very clever.”

2:23: Yahoo has a lot of information, Bartz says, but they were siloed into things like Mail, Finance, Sports, etc. To get that information into the cloud to use it very quickly meant dealing with the silos and getting its own house in order.

2:26: Battelle asks about talent. A lot of senior management has come and gone. Why should someone come to Yahoo over Google or Facebook? Bartz responds that they don’t have an IPO, but they have a lot of fascinating jobs and technical problems that interest people.

2:29: Private equity buyout rumors brought up. Bartz says she loves being a public company CEO. She says once you understand what the job is and its complexity, it’s good. She deflty avoids the question though. Nice job, Bartz.

2:31: Bartz is asked by an audience member about Yahoo’s big stake in Alibaba. She can’t comment on mergers or acquisitions, so she won’t.

Reviews: Facebook, Google, sports

More About: carol bartz, W2S2010, Web 2.0 Summit, Yahoo

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Could Facebook Become the Basis for Artificial Intelligence?

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:52 PM PST


The CEO of Digital Sky Technologies, the Russian venture capital firm that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon, says that he is a supporter and investor in Facebook partly because he believes the social network could become the basis for artificial intelligence.

During a conversation between DST CEO Yuri Milner and Federated Media CEO John Battelle, the venture capitalist stated that Facebook is the type of company that will fundamentally change the way information is processed. In fact, he said that it could change information to such an extent that it could be the basis for artificial intelligence over time.

Milner says that this process could happen quickly; Facebook could be one of the platforms for artificial intelligence technology in the next 10 years.

We can see why Milner says Facebook and AI are destined to be linked. Facebook is the central nexus of social data and the social graph; it is the online personification of personalities, interests, friendships and more. Eventually we can see companies tapping into Facebook’s API to augment their AI efforts and use that data to link AIs to the rest of the world.

Ten years seems awfully close, though. Then again, as a major investor in Facebook, Milner’s in a unique position to judge the potential of the company.

Reviews: Facebook

More About: digital sky technologies, DST, facebook, venture capital, Zynga

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New Mashable Awards Category: “Best Mobile App”

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:47 PM PST

Mashable Awards Image

As part of the ongoing Mashable Awards, we’re announcing the final four nomination categories. This is “Best Mobile App” supported by Mobile Future. Be sure to nominate your favorites and join us for the Gala in Las Vegas! Sponsorships are available. Please contact sponsorships@mashable.com for more information.

The Mashable Awards is hitting full stride with less than two weeks before the first nomination period ends. In preparation we’ve added the final four nomination categories, including “Best Mobile App,” supported by Mobile Future. We’re thrilled to add the “Best Mobile App” category to the awards and look forward to your nominations and selections.

Mobile apps come in all shapes and sizes, and that’s what is so exciting about this category: While we are excluding mobile games from this list, nearly any other mobile app category is applicable. Whether it’s finding information, finding a great movie, getting social, sending e-cards, snapping some photos, or any other creative use of your phone or tablet, let us know what mobile app made your year and nominate it for the Mashable Awards!

Mashable Awards Category Sponsor:

Mobile Future is a broad-based coalition of businesses, non-profit organizations and individuals interested in and dedicated to advocating for an environment in which innovations in wireless technology and services are enabled and encouraged. Our mission is to educate the public and key decision makers on innovations in the wireless industry that have transformed the way Americans work and play and to advocate continued investment in wireless technologies.

Our "Mobile Year in Review 2010" animation proves a glimpse into the most notable breakthroughs in the wireless industry this year.

The Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity (Vegas)

In partnership with Cirque du Soleil, The Mashable Awards Gala event will bring together the winners and nominees, the Mashable community, partners, media, the marketing community, consumer electronics and technology brands and attendees from the 2011 International CES Convention to Las Vegas on Thursday, January 6, 2011. Together, we will celebrate the winners and the community of the Mashable Awards at the Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage in the beautiful New York New York Hotel. The event will include acts and performances from our partner Cirque du Soleil Zumanity. In addition, there will be special guest presenters and appearances.

Date: Thursday, January 6th, 2011 (during International CES Convention week)
Time: 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. PT
Location: Cirque du Soleil Zumanity, New York New York Hotel, Las Vegas
Agenda: Networking, Open Bars, Acts, Surprises and the Mashable Awards Gala presentations
Socialize: Facebook, Foursquare, Meetup, Plancast, Twitter (Hashtag: #MashableAwards)

Sponsorships are available. Please contact sponsorships@mashable.com for more information.

Register for Mashable Awards Gala at Cirque du Soleil Zumanity stage (Las Vegas - 2011 International CES convention) [Ticketed Event] in Las Vegas, NV on Eventbrite

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, francisblack

Reviews: Facebook, Foursquare, Mashable, Twitter, iStockphoto

More About: Awards, mashable awards, mashable awards 2010, Mobile 2.0, mobile app, open web awards

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Foursquare Fills Out Its Trophy Case

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:32 PM PST


Foursquare has just introduced a new section of its site to help users keep track of (and show off) the various badges they have earned from Foursquare or its new partners.

The new repository — aptly named Trophy Case — shows off all your unlocked Foursquare badges, and lets you navigate your digital kudos by “Foursquare” or “partner” sections. Clicking on a badge brings up its description, how you earned the badge and which of your other friends also unlocked the same badge.

Users can access their Trophy Case by clicking on the “Badges” navigation bar. On its official blog, Foursquare also noted that it has just launched a new Partner Badge program to help companies and organizations create even more badges for Foursquare users.

This is actually a pretty big deal because the partnership aspect of Foursquare has traditionally required companies, brands or events to contact and work out deals with Foursquare directly. Interested parties can fill out this form to get started. In the future, the Partner Badge program will be more streamlined.

Foursquare has also introduced some new Partner Badges for some new brands and organizations, including The Ellen Show, Radio Shack, People Magazine and New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Foursquare can be credited with bringing the digital merit badge to the masses, a conceit that many other location-based and checkin based services have also adopted. It’s great to see badges get their own space on the site. We’re also excited that Foursquare is embracing its partnership opportunities and potentially making it easier for brands and organizations to get their own badges.

Reviews: foursquare

More About: foursquare, foursquare badges, geolocation, partner badge program

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Why You Need an Android Device This Holiday Season

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 01:31 PM PST

Mashable 10 Logo

This post is part of the Mashable 10, Mashable’s gift guide of the 10 hottest gadgets that will be on everyone’s wish list this holiday season. We’ll be publishing one new post each weekday until November 26.

Android Gift ImageThe Apple iPhone 4 and iOS made big moves this year, but we were most impressed by Android devices in 2010. We’re not really faulting the iPhone, we just rely on our mobile devices to maintain connectivity. In seeking a viable alternative, the choice was obvious: Android.

While the Mashable 10 was designed to recommend 10 specific devices, we recognize that everyone has specific carrier preferences, so this guide is a bit different. Our official recommendation is the Android platform, but we’ve picked Android devices on each of the four major U.S. carriers to get you connected in style.

AT&T – Samsung Captivate

The Samsung Captivate is far and away the best Android device on AT&T. Based on the popular Samsung i9000, AT&T didn’t change many of the factors that make other Galaxy S devices great.

Powered by a 1GHz hummingbird processor, the Captivate also includes 16GB of internal flash memory. Its 4-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED touchscreen is among the best screens currently on the market.

The strangest omission on this device is the absence of an LED flash for its 5-megapixel camera.

Unfortunately, it’s currently only (officially) running Android 2.1, but it’s likely to receive 2.2 (Froyo) before the end of the year. The Samsung Captivate is available on AT&T for $199 after a $300 rebate with a two-year contract.

Verizon Wireless – DROID X

The DROID X by Motorola exemplifies the Verizon Wireless “DROID Does,” ad campaign better than perhaps any other device. It’s also one of the largest phones this side of the year 2000. If, however, you’re looking for a media powerhouse, this is it.

The DROID X is powered by 1GHz processor with 8GB of internal memory and a 16GB MicroSD card. It’s also capable of recording 720p video, it’s not, however, the best camera on the market.

More importantly, the phone features a massive 4.3-inch 854 x 480 touchscreen, which is mostly perfect for watching media on the go. If you’re at home though, the DROID X has HDMI out and DLNA support, so video can be streamed directly to most modern home theaters.

Another big plus is that it has already been officially updated to Android 2.2, so no need to bother with the older platform. The DROID X is available on Verizon Wireless for $200 after a $100 rebate with a two-year contract.

Sprint – HTC EVO 4G

People love their EVO 4Gs, and who are we to argue? It was “America’s first 4G phone,” after all. And even if Sprint 4G isn’t yet available everywhere, the EVO 4G is still an excellent device.

Featuring the same 1GHz Snapdragon processor found in many current Android devices, the EVO 4G differentiates itself in a number of other ways. For instance, a kickstand allows for easy viewing without the need of an external case. And, like the DROID X, it has HDMI, so it’s easily connectible to TVs.

Where WiMAX is available, 4G is easily its biggest feature. Sprint’s 4G speeds are capable of up to 10Mbps down and 1Mbps up, which rivals the home broadband of many Americans.

The speed is doubly cool, since the device serves as a mobile hotspot. Simply start it up and it works as a micro-Wi-Fi network capable of serving 4G Internet to five devices. With Sprint currently lighting cities with WiMAX, it’s likely that, unless you live in the middle of nowhere, you’ll soon have 4G access.

The HTC EVO 4G is running Android 2.2. It’s available on Sprint for $200 after $250 in rebates with a two-year contract.

T-Mobile – G2

The T-Mobile G2 by HTC is perhaps the truest Android experience currently on the market. With Android 2.2 out of the box, the G2 isn’t saddled with supplemental software added by the manufacturer. It’s just Android, and it’s beautiful in its simplicity.

The device is mostly standard in terms of specs (800MHz processor, etc.), but it has an excellent, slide-out qwerty keyboard. You also won’t find a ton of superfluous features on the G2; just the basics, but everything works as it should.

The G2 features T-Mobile’s answer to 4G: HSPA+. While it’s not as fast as WiMAX or LTE, it’s very quick and it already works in most cities. I’ve personally tried it in Akron, Cheyenne, Des Moines, Lincoln, Omaha, New York, Reno, Salt Lake City, Savannah and San Francisco, and it’s performed across the board. If you’re not in a city, though, you might be out of luck.

The myTouch is more feature-heavy than the G2, but if you’re looking for an Android device that just works, the T-Mobile G2 is among the best options currently on the market. The G2 is available now on T-Mobile for $200 after $250 in rebates and a 2-year contract.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, alexsl

Reviews: Android, Internet, Mashable, Wimax, iPhone, iStockphoto

More About: android, att, droid, gadgets, gift guide, Gifts, Google, Holiday Lists, Holidays, List, Lists, mashable 10, Mobile 2.0, sprint, T-Mobile, verizon, wish list

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RIM CEO: “You Don’t Need an App for the Web”

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:41 PM PST


RIM CEO Jim Balsillie spoke to John Battelle at the Web 2.0 Summit about the company’s ongoing rivalry with Apple. Balsillie made it clear that RIM and Apple are on opposite ends of the application spectrum.

The main point of contention is the notion that Apple’s iOS platform and SDK are causing what Battelle referred to as the “appification of the web.” RIM, however, takes the stance that, “you don’t need an app for the web,” Balsillie said.

Balsillie’s argument was that RIM believes “you can bring the mobile to the web … but you dont need to go through the control point of the SDK.” He said anyone can “publish native to the BlackBerry without writing any native code.”

In fact, when it comes to Apple’s push for locked-down mobile application development, Balsillie said, “We completely disagree with that world view.” Basillie also insinuated that Apple has hijacked the open platform that is the web, but that the end is nigh for this approach.

Basillie’s sentiments echoed those of Shantanu Narayen, Adobe’s CEO, who spoke earlier in the day about his company’s focus on building authoring tools that allow developers to bring their content to multiple platforms.

Balsillie’s conviction on the matter is certainly interesting given that Apple’s iTunes App Store is booming by all accounts.

Reviews: App Store

More About: blackberry, Mobile 2.0, RIM, W2S2010

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Zappos to Hire 2,000 People in 2011

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:37 PM PST


Zappos and Gilt Groupe are two of the hottest e-commerce companies around, but each attributes different factors to their success.

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and Gilt Groupe Chairman Susan Lyne described the “hypergrowth” of their e-commerce companies during a panel at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. It was an interesting comparison of two different types of business models that are making major waves in the world of online commerce.

Lyne revealed that Gilt Groupe is on track to bring in $400 million to $500 million in revenue in 2010, up from $170 million in 2009. She says that the company now has more than 500 employees and has launched a suite of new products, including Gilt City and Jetsetter. The core thread between all of these products is the power of daily deals; exclusivity is a draw for membership.

The rapid growth has presented the company with some major technical challenges, most surrounding the rush of traffic that hits the website at noon every day. As the company has grown, Gilt Groupe has also had trouble attracting entrepreneurial engineering talent. That’s why Jetsetter and Gilt City are run like their own independent startups, despite being part of the Gilt Groupe empire.

Tony Hsieh and Zappos have had a different path than Gilt; a year ago, the company was acquired by Amazon for more than $900 million. Since then, Hsieh says that Amazon has fulfilled its promise to keep its hands off of Zappos and its legendary culture.

The result has been a 50% increase in Q1 net sales year-over-year, according to Hsieh. Not only that, but in 2011 the company is going to hire 2,000 employees (seasonal and full-time), up from the 2,800 people it employs currently. The company shouldn’t have any trouble finding people to fill those positions, though. It has received 25,000 job applications in the past year. During that time frame, the company only hired 250 people, an impressively low 1% acceptance rate.

Both companies seem to be on track to continue their high-paced growth for the foreseeable future. The fate of Zappos has already been determined (acquisition by Amazon). As for Gilt Groupe, all Lyne would say is that there will not be an IPO within the next year.

More About: gilt groupe, Tony Hsieh, W2S2010, Web 2.0 Summit, Zappos

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Win The Beatles Box Set on iTunes [CONTEST]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:24 PM PST


Has the excitement of Tuesday’s announcement that The Beatles are on iTunes gotten to you yet?

It’s in full force at Mashable, which is why we’re giving away five box sets to our readers. Each set includes full albums, mini documentaries and the full concert film from the Washington Coliseum in 1964. You can also browse through track listings, liner notes and photos. Check out our Beatles box set gallery for more about its features.

How can you get your hands on one? We want to know what your favorite Beatles song is and why you love it. We’ll choose five winners and announce them this week.

Good luck and happy listening!

How to Enter the Contest

  • Tell us your favorite Beatles song and why AND
  • Tweet your answer using #mashbeatles and include a link to this post OR
  • Submit your answer in the comments below and like this post on Facebook

Submit your answer by Thursday, November 18 at 12 p.m. ET. Please use your real identity in the submission so that we may contact you via e-mail, Twitter or Facebook to let you know that you’ve won. We’ll announce the winners after the contest closes. At this time, the contest is limited to those 18 and older in the U.S.

Reviews: Facebook, Mashable, Twitter

More About: apple, contest, itunes, the beatles, the beatles box set

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The Beatles on iTunes: Hands-On With the Full Collection [PICS]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 12:21 PM PST


After years of rumors, negotiations and even a few lawsuits, The Beatles are finally on iTunes. This means that the entire official catalog is now available for purchase (and Mashable’s giving away five copies — read on for the details).

iTunes is offering each Beatles album for sale individually, or you can purchase the entire box set for $149.99 (I’m the Beatles fan that decided to do just that).

Apple has given each album — along with the box set — the full iTunes LP treatment. This means you can browse through track listings, liner notes and photos in a really nice fashion. It also means that each album comes with a mini documentary, while the box set includes the full concert film from the Washington Coliseum in 1964.

A Bit of History

Note that last year, EMI released completely remastered versions of each Beatles album. In addition to each record, EMI also released a box set that contained every album, plus the “Past Masters” two volume compilation.

The “best of” collections (commonly referred to as “The Red Album” and “The Blue Album”) were remastered and re-released last month. The iTunes versions of these albums are the same as the 2009 and 2010 remasters.

In addition to releasing the box sets and individual albums, record label EMI also released a special limited edition USB stick — ironically in the shape of an apple — in December. If you were one of the 30,000 individuals to purchase that dongle, you can probably skip the iTunes release. For everyone else, the iTunes release represents the first time you can digitally purchase Beatles tunes.

The Collection

If you didn’t already buy the box set on CD last year, the iTunes release is a great way to get the Beatles collection. The 2009 remaster is a significant improvement over the 1987 Sony compact disc release. For die-hards, do know that only the stereo version of the the Beatles Box Set is available.

Contest: Win the Box Set!

Mashable is giving away five box sets to our readers! Check out our contest for details on how to enter and win.

Hands-on With the Box Set

Check out our gallery for a hands-on look at what comes in this box set:


The Beatles on iTunes




The iTunes artist page for The Beatles has videos, ads and direct links to every Beatles album.


The Beatles Box Set




The Beatles Box Set is iTunes LP-enhanced and provides access to each album, special documentaries for each album, track listings, and liner notes.


The Beatles Documentaries




There is a mini-documentary for each album included in the Beatles Box Set.


The Beatles Documentaries




You can watch the documentaries one at a time or switch between "chapters" in iTunes.


The Beatles Live at the Washington Coliseum in 1964




If you purchase the Beatles Box Set, you also get the complete concert film of the Beatles performing at the Washington Coliseum in 1964.


Concert Film




You can skip to specific songs using the chapter feature.


Album Listing




Every LP from the Beatles (in Stereo) is included in this release.


Please Please Me





With the Beatles





A Hard Day's Night





Beatles For Sale





Help!





Rubber Soul





Revolver





Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band





Magical Mystery Tour





The Beatles





Yellow Submarine





Abbey Road





Let It Be





Past Masters





Track Listings





Track Listings





Liner Notes





Liner Notes





Track Listings





Photos





Liner Notes





Ping





Artist Page





Liner Notes




Reviews: Mashable

More About: giveaway, itunes, music, review, the beatles, the beatles box set

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How the Network Will Make Our Cities Smart and Transform the World [VIDEO]

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:57 AM PST


Cisco’s chief globalization officer says that we will need to build 200 cities in the next 50 years to support the urbanization of our world, but it presents a great opportunity to transform how we live by building Internet-enabled and networked cities from the start.

Wim Elfrink addressed this subject during a stellar presentation at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco. His talk, “The Network Is The Platform For Transforming The World,” focused on four “megatrends” that he believes will change the world: the aging and decline of the labor forces of developed countries, the impending population boom of emerging countries, the shift of economic power to developing nations and urbanization of the world’s population.

With those key points in mind, Elfrink laid out his vision of a world where cities are built from the ground up with the network in mind. These would be cities powered by the “Internet of things.” The buildings would be smart and know where to allocate energy, and your toilet could even provide you with nutrition advice. He said he believes a connected city could help save energy, decrease wasted water and traffic and lower crime rates.

Check out Elfrink’s vision for the future in the 15-minute video below:

Reviews: Internet

More About: cisco, enterprise, future, W2S2010, Web 2.0 Summit, Wim Elfrink

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Google Voice Now Available On the iPhone

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:40 AM PST


After more than a year since it was rejected from the app store, an official Google Voice app is now available through iTunes. Google Voice’s arrival follows the approval of several third-party apps in recent months.

Although Google had developed a bit of a workaround by launching an HTML5 version of Voice, a native app that rivals the functionality offered on Android devices makes the iPhone even more attractive, especially if there is any merit to the Verizon iPhone speculation.

Despite its often comical voicemail transcriptions, Google Voice improves on the mobile telephony experience in a number of ways. If you’re using an iPhone, the time has come to check out the Google Voice app for iOS [iTunes link].

Reviews: Android, Google Voice

More About: android, apple, Google, Google Voice, iphone, itunes

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242 Target Stores Start Offering Shopkick Checkin Rewards

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 11:27 AM PST


Location-based shopping app and rewards platform Shopkick has signed on another national retail partner: Target. Beginning today, Tuesday, the discount retailer will begin supporting Shopkick at 242 of its stores.

Shopkick’s iPhone app and pending Android app allow store patrons to automatically check in at stores as they walk in, so long as the application is running, to receive points — called “Kickbucks” — for redeemable rewards.

Application users can accrue even more points by scanning product barcodes in stores from brands such as Kraft Foods and P&G. Target shoppers may also receive instant mobile coupons just by walking into a store.

Target joins Best Buy, Macy’s, Simon Malls and handful of other retailers as partners that have all installed a special Shopkick box, which costs roughly $100 per unit and emits a signal picked up by mobile devices to verify and automate checkins and points for rewards.

Shopkick’s approach to location and rewards overlaps with the likes of Checkpoints, which recently partnered with discount retailer Kmart.

Image courtesy of Flickr, amateur autuer

Reviews: Android, Flickr

More About: checkins, location-based startup, MARKETING, shopkick

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Palm CEO: webOS Is Still Relevant

Posted: 16 Nov 2010 10:46 AM PST


Palm may have been acquired by HP earlier this year, but former CEO Jon Rubinstein — now heading up the Palm Global Business Unit at HP — believes that webOS is still an important operating system for mobile devices.

In an interview with John Battelle at the Web 2.0 Summit, Rubinstein glossed over Palm’s failures and instead focused on what he believes to be the future: HP’s preeminence in the mobile space.

To that end, he said HP will be “aggressively rolling out new [webOS] devices; the pool will grow very dramatically in the next 12 to 18 months.”

Specifically, Rubinstein said we should expect to see webOS on a variety of devices, including tablets and printers. We already know we can expect to see the former during the first quarter of 2011.

Battelle and Rubinstein also discussed some of the details surrounding the acquisition, though Rubinstein was reluctant to share any specifics. What he did disclose, however, was that HP’s decision to buy Palm was motivated by a very specific desire to control its own future in the mobile space, and not, “rely on the kindness of strangers.” Strangers, in this case, refer to Microsoft, as Battelle clarified in a follow-up question.

Battelle also pressed for specific expectations around mobile operating system market share, asking point blank whether webOS would be able to carve out a significant share and be competitive with Android and iOS. Rubinstein sidestepped the numbers question and instead responded, “Of course HP is going to be successful in this.” Plus, he claimed that webOS has a very loyal install base.

That said, in the previous presentation, Mary Meeker of Morgan Stanley lumped the OS in the “others” category and pointed to Gartner data showing that together these others represent only a 6% quarterly share of smartphone unit shipments.

Reviews: Android

More About: HP, Mobile 2.0, palm, W2S2010, webOS

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