Amazon’s entry is only rumored but I think the description of it is detailed enough to be credible. The day after the scoop with Amazon, Baidu announced the Yi platform. Baidu is the sixth most visited site in the world, so it’s not a bit player and it makes as much sense for Baidu to have a mobile platform as it does for Google.
Mike Bostock visualizes mobile patent lawsuits, improving on a graphic from Thomson Reuters that wasn't so good. Dashed lines are resolved suits and green ones are licenses to the company.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Motorola Mobility Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Google will acquire Motorola Mobility for $40.00 per share in cash, or a total of about $12.5 billion, a premium of 63% to the closing price of Motorola Mobility shares on Friday, August 12, 2011. The transaction was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.
The acquisition of Motorola Mobility, a dedicated Android partner, will enable Google to supercharge the Android ecosystem and will enhance competition in mobile computing. Motorola Mobility will remain a licensee of Android and Android will remain open. Google will run Motorola Mobility as a separate business.
Creating the digital wallet, both on the mobile and web platforms, is no easy task. Visa has a name for itself in the credit card industry but the fact is that the brand still has to attach innovation to itself in order for people to take these products seriously. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons why Google’s Mobile Wallet news created waves, even though NFC technology is in its early stages.
Visa competitor American Express is also working hard to innovate both at the large retailer level, as well as among smaller retailers, with GoSocial.
While Visa, American Express and others are looking to capitalize on the changes taking place in the payments industry, it is a challenging effort. Local commerce is a big part of this, and everyone is trying to find a way to close the redemption loop. But e-commerce, amongst larger retailers, is also a multi-billion dollar market that Visa hopes to continue to play in with products like a digital wallet. And in-store payments, whether that be through NFC, Square or others, represent another market.
I’ve been talking to a number of executives of payments companies and founders of innovative payments startups, and while their objectives are different, they all seem to agree on one thing. It’s early and there is still much more innovation were going to see in the next few years in the online and mobile payments space.
A new Trojan virus that targets Android smartphones covertly records users' phone calls. Unfortunately, this malicious software is just one part of a new trend in hacking that targets Android and Apple iOS devices.
A new Android virus records users’ phone calls without their knowledge, reports Network World.
To cover all bases, it is important to recognise that consumers are not using these channels in a mutually exclusive manner. They are using both native applications and browser-based apps, so the best strategy is to develop both types.
The decision to invest in an app or in a mobile website depends on the company’s target audience and the functionality of the app. Companies also need to consider time, budget and resources to develop each solution.
Native, web or hybrid mobile app development?
Source: Worklight
An inherent trade-off
Source: Worklight
Downloads
Internet Strategy Briefing (1.4 MB PDF)
Econsultancy’s 46-page Internet Marketing Strategy Briefing, which is is free to download, covers some the most significant online trends and is recommended reading for anyone interested in digital marketing strategy.
The report, which includes case studies and examples of best practice, includes sections on customer centricity, channel diversification, data, social media and content strategy.
You’ll recall that Project Spartan is the HTML5-driven mobile application platform that Facebook has been quietly building for months with the help of a group of third-party app developers. While some of those very developers believe Facebook’s intentions here is to break up the control Apple (and Google) have over the mobile app space, Facebook started freaking out when we reported that. The spin began almost immediately. And it has continued, even with the group of third-party developers working on the project — they’re affectionately known as “Spartans”.
We previously reported that after our initial story, Facebook began reaching out to the Spartans, reminding them that the information of the project was confidential (while telling the press this stuff was really “nothing new”). Since then, Facebook has stepped up their game as well. We now hear that there’s been a lot of stern talks with the Spartans, telling them that the project is not about going after Apple. But it’s not really working. “I look at these apps and how content rich they are and how they have nothing to do with Apple and everything to do with Facebook and assume that they think we are retarded,” is how one put it.
One developer says that the quality of the apps on the platform is really surprising — in a good way, naturally. Apparently, there are going to be a ton of games that will be a part of the Spartan launch. This shouldn’t be too surprising, HTML5 gaming has been something Facebook has been pushing. And Zynga is believed to be heavily involved in the project.
So when will Spartan launch? Facebook is pushing to have everyone ready by July 15. One source expects a formal unveiling to be sometime between then and August 1.
While we’ve been hesitant to provide many screenshots of what the project looks like since it could give away sources, we have secured the one below which has been slightly altered. You’ll note that it looks like a modified version of the current Facebook mobile site. Of course, two things you won’t find on the current mobile site are right there staring you in the face: Games and Apps — with notifications too!
It’s easy to pile on Google given their size, their wallet, and their global influence and impact. They are the goliath, and have been for many years, and are now facing many challenging tests, all at the same time. And while it’s a fun parlor game to sit around and pontificate about how Google’s reign might be over or how slow GMail loads, the reality is that no other company could compete legitimately on so many different battlefronts against so many different competitors. There’s no way Google can win each battle, and they must know that, but they will win some, and it will be fascinating to see how the company both adapts and stays the course along the way. Google is not going to go down without a fight, and it could take another decade for all of these battles to play out. The company has some of the world’s brightest engineers, a stockpile of cash, and incredible consumer Internet mind share, worldwide. Sit tight.
The value of global mobile transactions will grow from US$241 billion in 2011 to more than $1 trillion by 2015, a compound annual growth rate of 56%, according to Yankee Group's latest Mobile Money Forecast, part of a new Mobile Money Strategies research service.
SUSPECT:A phone-based dossier sets the scene
NFC specialist Proxama has devised a hi-tech version of a traditional murder mystery game that is designed to show businesses how easy it is to use NFC tag reading to transfer information to mobile phone users.
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) could earn as much as $14 billion from mobile-ad sales in 2015, or nearly half the $29 billion it banked in online ads combined in 2010, according to a financial research firm.
When interest rates are low, as they are today, the appeal for banks of online deposits grows relative to those harvested in the branch, points out Aaron Fine of Oliver Wyman, a consultancy. The reason is that traditional banks hold a lot more non-interest-bearing and low-interest deposits than direct banks typically do, and the profitmaking opportunities from reinvesting these in wholesale markets shrinks dramatically as rates fall. Indeed, most retail banks will suffer more from this lost “carry” than from more-publicised regulatory curbs on overdraft and card fees. ING Direct’s all-in costs per dollar of deposits are now slightly below those of the typical large bank—though they would jump back above if interest rates rose substantially. Online banking is “an implicit bet that rates won’t rise too far,” says one banker.
Moreover, the branch’s role is evolving. Fewer customers use it for routine services, such as withdrawing or transferring funds, but many still value it for more complicated transactions (see chart). Even as BofA trims its network, it is hiring more branch specialists in mortgages, investments and small-business banking. It announced this week that it will double the number of financial advisers in its branches by the end of 2011. Many Americans who bank predominantly online or on their iPhone still consider the density of nearby branches an important factor when choosing their provider, according to surveys.
One option for the cost-conscious bank is to replace traditional branches with cheaper mini-branches, staffed by two or three employees trained to give advice and loans as well as man the counters. Huntington Bancshares is opening 100 such outlets in Giant Eagle grocery stores across Ohio. These cost 85-90% less than normal branches to build and 50% less to run, says Stephen Steinour, the bank’s boss. But Huntington is investing heavily in internet and mobile banking, too—and thus “moving towards channel agnosticism”.
According to the research, almost 40 per cent of consumers are now familiar with the interactive matrix barcodes. Across all age groups 12 per cent of consumers have successfully scanned a QR code with their mobile phone and accessed the information it contained. This figure increases to 20 per cent among 18 - 24 year olds, and 15 per cent among 25 - 34 year olds.
On average, men (15 per cent) were more likely to have used a QR code than women (12 per ceng) and, of people who have interacted them, most have done so with QR codes on advertising and products (both 41 per cent).
Two UK firms involved in contactless ticketing and payments have joined forces to launch NFC and mobile phone-based solutions.
Transit specialist Applied Card Technologies (ACT) and digital payments company sQuid have merged under a new corporate umbrella, Smart Transactions Group, in a deal valued at £53.3m (US$87m).
