Consumers Don't Want The BlackBerry
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Consumer surveys haven’t been very kind to BlackBerry this week. In the wake an earlier survey showing that 83 percent of Americans had no idea BlackBerry 10 had even launched and 71 percent of consumers would never buy a BlackBerry under any circumstances. For comparison, just 20 percent of consumers surveyed said that nothing could convince them to buy an iPhone while just 31 percent said the same of Android phones. It goes without saying that this only underscores the challenges that BlackBerry faces in trying to win over consumers who are already very attached to both iOS and Android and suggests that the company faces a pretty low ceiling for how high its market share can climb. Read >>
Google Exec: Mobile Is Biggest Revolution Since Internet (Mobile Marketer)
A Google executive who keynoted the ad:tech San Francisco 2013 conference said that mobile is a critical piece in revolutionizing the advertising industry and the company is constantly rethinking everything it does because of the ever-changing and emerging space. During the Google keynote presenter was Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president of advertising at Google. She talked about how the advertising space has changed over the years. Not only is the space changing quickly, but marketers need to implement a user-first mentality to drive participation. “If you fast forward 10 years, there are going to be even more interesting and more exciting things then the last 10 years,” she said. “There’s going to be more change and more dynamic." Read >>
The Android That Could Crush The iPhone (CNN Money)
Technology reviewers are running out of superlatives to describe just how good it is. But they're not talking about the latest from Apple. They're talking about an Android, the HTC One. HTC's new flagship phone is out on April 19, and will cost $199 with a contract. By many, many, accounts, it is one the best phones ever made. And possibly the model that is finally better than an iPhone. Take a close look at what everyone is raving about. Read >>
Apple Could Unveil Killer Payments App (Morgan Stanley via CNet)
Apple may shake up the next version of iOS with the introduction of a true mobile wallet, forecasts Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. Dubbed a "killer app" by the analyst, the mobile wallet feature would surface as part of iOS 7, which Apple is expected to preview at its Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Huberty's prediction echoes that of fellow Apple analyst Gene Munster, who also thinks a digital wallet is in Apple's future. However, Munster believes the technology won't surface on iOS devices for another year or two. Read >>
MasterCard Launches MasterPass Payment Platform (MobileSyrup)
MasterCard has launched its long-awaited payment platform, MasterPass, to facilitate mobile payments on the Web and mobile devices. At its core, MasterPass is a locker, able to hold the information of up to 25 credit cards, even from issuers other than MasterCard. MasterPass can enable any number of payment methods, from single sign-in on partner site Grocery Gateway, to NFC- or Bluetooth-based mobile processing like Rogers’ Suretap product. “The goal is to make every connected device a commerce device,” says Jason Davies, Vice President of E-Commerce for MasterCard Canada, emphasizing that MasterPass is a fully-realized payment ecosystem rather than a mobile payment processor or end-of-transaction security verifier. MasterPass will first launch in Canada. Read >>
Sold Launches A Mobile Selling Service (TechCrunch)
Rather than creating a new marketplace, Matthew Blackshaw, Tony DeVincenzi and Dávid Lakatos — straight outta MIT Media Lab — decided that the best way to add value in eCommerce is to fix the selling experience. So, the three amigos developed Sold, a startup and iOS app, to do just that. The startup aims to create a service layer on top of existing marketplaces rather than create a new one from scratch, while trying to simplify the way we sell online. Read >>
Foursquare Nabs $41 Million To Fuel Mobile Advertising (Fierce Mobile Content)
Foursquare has secured $41 million in financing from private equity fund Silver Lake Partners and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, O'Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and Spark Capital. A multiyear loan from Silver Lake makes up the bulk of the money - the remainder is convertible debt that can later be swapped for shares. By assuming debt instead of giving investors equity stakes, Foursquare can delay discussions about its true market value. Previous investment rounds valued the mobile social networking startup at $600 million, although a source familiar with Foursquare's finances reveals the company raked in just $2 million in revenue in 2012. Read >>
Nvidia Sees Flat Mobile Growth (The Economic Times)
Nvidia Co-founder and CEO Jen-Hsun Huang Huang told investors his company has sacrificed some sales of its Tegra mobile chips in the near term in order to focus on integrating Long Term Evolution (LTE) features on upcoming versions, making them compatible with high-end carrier networks. Combined with a slumping PC industry, that strategy is putting pressure on Nvidia in the first half of 2013, Huang told analysts at a conference. "We're confident that as we go into the second half, growth will return," he said. "How do we feel about the Tegra business? This year Tegra will be about flat." Read >>
Facebook Acquires Mobile Software Startup Osmeta (TechCrunch)
While Facebook is building out a bolder role in mobile in the form of Facebook Home, it looks like it is also continuing to make acquisitions that will help bolster that strategy overall. We have learned that in the lead-up to the launch last week, the social network picked up Osmeta, a mobile software startup. Osmeta had yet to launch a commercial product, and it is not completely clear at this point if this is an acqui-hire or a technology deal as well. Read >>