MobileCrunch |  |
- Nokia Debuts Two New Phones For Emerging Markets: Nokia 101 ($35) And Nokia 100 ($30)
- Fujitsu’s IS12T Windows Phone Mango Launched In Japan Today (Quick Hands-On)
- Music Search Startup SoundHound Partners With Spotify For Instant Streaming
- EscapeCapsule Lets You Use Your iPhone 4 In Water, Sand, Mud, Snow, And Other Gross Stuff
- Blue For Facebook Sure Looks Like Color’s Next Hue
- Mobile Payments Company Boku Expands Direct Carrier Billing Deals In France
- RIM’s New QNX BlackBerrys Will Run Android Apps
- AT&T’s Hyperlocal Sites Show Off Network Upgrades
- HP TouchPad Android Port Bounty Now Over $2,000
- Bloodhound Is On The Scent Of The Perfect Conference App
- Tinypay.me Raises $1 Million, Moving HQ to San Francisco
- Point, Apple: Court Issues EU-Wide Preliminary Injunction On Galaxy Smartphones (Update)
- StackMob, The “Heroku For Mobile”, Partners With… Heroku!
- Motorola Atrix’s “Most Powerful” Claims Shot Down In U.K.
- Dwolla Launches “Proxi” For Proximity-Based Mobile Payments
- China Never Received An Application For Approval Of Googorola Deal
- Fad Or Future? Booktrack Adds Music, Sound Effects To E-Books; Peter Thiel Invests
- Social Gaming Network PapayaMobile Hits 25M Users
| Nokia Debuts Two New Phones For Emerging Markets: Nokia 101 ($35) And Nokia 100 ($30) Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:24 AM PDT  Nokia this morning announced the launch of two dirt cheap phones, the Nokia 101 and Nokia 100, which the company says are its most affordable phones to date. Priced only 25 euros ($35) and 20 euros ($30), respectively, that should hardly be a surprise. Of course, ‘dirt cheap’ is relative – the feature phones are meant for people in countries where phones have to be this inexpensive to even be considered for purchase (large parts of Africa and Asia, in particular). “We recognize that for many of the next billion people, a phone purchase is an investment. People are looking for a phone that offers great features but also one that is dependable,” said Mary McDowell, EVP, Mobile Phones, Nokia. The Nokia 101 is a dual SIM device that enables users to connect to two different networks to receive calls and messages, helping them manage costs and maintain decent coverage without the need for multiple phones. It comes with an FM radio, MP3 player and a 103 phon loudspeaker, and provides support for up to 16 GB microSD memory cards. The phone will be available in the third quarter of 2011 and comes in black and red. The Nokia 100 is a rudimentary color display phone with an FM radio. It will be available in the fourth quarter of 2011 and comes in blue, pink, black and red. Both the Nokia 101 and Nokia 100 offer Nokia Life Tools (albeit limited to selected markets) and Nokia Money (in India), providing access to locally-relevant information on healthcare, education, agriculture and entertainment. Both handsets are based on the Series 30 operating system and can support up to five separate address books and store personalization details for up to five different SIM cards. Nokia is a Finnish multinational communications corporation. It is primarily engaged in the manufacturing of mobile devices and in converging Internet and communications industries. They make a wide range...
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| Fujitsu’s IS12T Windows Phone Mango Launched In Japan Today (Quick Hands-On) Posted: 25 Aug 2011 01:17 AM PDT  Last month, Fujitsu in Japan unveiled the IS12T, announced as the world’s first cell phone running on Windows Phone 7.5 aka Mango. And the country’s second biggest mobile carrier (and exclusive provider of the handset) KDDI au, didn’t lose much time: the IS12T became available today over here (here‘s Fujitsu’s official press release in English from today). As we reported previously, the Mango handset comes with a 3.7-inch LCD with 800×480 resolution, a 13.2MP CMOS camera, a water- and shock-proof body, 32GB internal memory, a microUSB port, IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (no tethering), DLNA support, GSM/CDMA, etc. I went to the only cell phone store in my neighborhood to have a look at the handset today, but unfortunately, I got to take just a few pictures (see above) and play around with it for a few minutes before I had to leave (no pictures-no videos policy). My initial impression was that the phone itself felt light and thin, but also extremely cheap and plasticky (I couldn’t give Xbox Live, the Internet Explorer and other apps a spin because Wi-Fi and 3G were turned off – in the few minutes I played with it, the UI felt great). Price-wise, the IS12T is positioned on the higher end of the spectrum for phones in Japan: the store (and every other retailer, for that matter) sells the phone for up to $955 (but with drastic discounts under certain circumstances). So if Fujitsu really starts selling the handset outside Japan (they do have international plans), don’t expect this to be a budget model.
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| Music Search Startup SoundHound Partners With Spotify For Instant Streaming Posted: 25 Aug 2011 12:58 AM PDT  Music search and discovery company SoundHound has inked a deal with digital music service provider Spotify to enable SoundHound users in Europe to instantly access the latter’s catalogue (of over 15 million tracks). From the sound of it, the partnership doesn’t enable users outside of Europe to cross that particular bridge just yet. Starting today, SoundHound users on iOS and Android devices who also subscribe to Spotify Premium will be given the option to 'Play Now in Spotify' after identifying a song through the music discovery and recognition service. That goes for users of both the free and the paid SoundHound apps. SoundHound users in Europe who don’t subscribe to Spotify Premium will be redirected to a page inviting them to become Spotify users before proceeding to listen to the track. A direct Shazam (Encore) competitor, SoundHound’s ‘Sound2Sound’ technology searches sound against sound, thus bypassing traditional sound-to-text conversion techniques. Headquartered in San Jose, California, SoundHound is backed by Global Catalyst Partners, TransLink Capital, Walden Venture Capital, and other Silicon Valley investors.
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| EscapeCapsule Lets You Use Your iPhone 4 In Water, Sand, Mud, Snow, And Other Gross Stuff Posted: 24 Aug 2011 04:37 PM PDT  There really should be no argument when I say that a case for your iPhone 4 is nothing short of necessary. Unless you've got cash to burn, the iPhone is just too damn expensive to leave unprotected. The only problem is that most of them make your phone pretty clunky, which sucks since Apple works hard to make the iPhone as slim as possible. Unfortunately, the only trade-off for all the heft is protection against impact. But what if you drop your iPhone in the toilet? The folks at Catalyst have an answer for you: EscapeCapsule. This thing is more than just a tough exo-skeleton. Made from a high-impact clear polycarbonate, the case protects against water, rain, snow, sand, mud, impacts, scratches… everything. Did I mention water? You can also double-check whether or not the case is securely sealed around the phone through the clear shell. Catalyst says the phone's hardware buttons are protected through a specially designed membrane, as is the touchscreen. The camera works surprisingly well with the cover on, proof of which can be found in the video on the project's Kickstarter page. The case also comes with an attached lanyard to go around your wrist while you're playing in the ocean with your iPhone. Because with the EscapeCapsule, you can play in the ocean with your iPhone. Crazy. The case comes in a number of colors, but if you make a pledge on Kickstarter you'll get Catalyst's Kickstarter-only edition Capsule — a green case with a white glow-in-the-dark rubber bumper and a glow-in-the-dark lanyard. It'll take a $50 pledge to pre-order your very own EscapeCapsule, which is an OK deal considering Catalyst plans to sell the case for $70 when it officially becomes a reality. As of right now, Catalyst has 28 days to reach its $30,000 funding goal. It has thus far received $3,780. Head on over to Kickstarter to check out a video of the EscapeCapsule in action.
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| Blue For Facebook Sure Looks Like Color’s Next Hue Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:37 PM PDT  Sometimes the need to test outweighs the need for total secrecy. I’m going to assume Color CEO Bill Nguyen shares that belief. The past two days his Facebook stream has been filled with some seemingly bland pictures. But they’re not bland — they’re test pictures. And they’re sent from a new app called “Blue”. I don’t know much about the app itself, but I was able to dig up a little bit of information — including the logo above. Judging from the name alone, I think it would be pretty safe to assume that this is at least one of the new projects the Color Labs team is working on after Color itself fizzled out. And there’s a bit more hinting at this being Color’s next project — namely that many of the developers listed on the Blue app Facebook page work at Color (and a number work at Apple as well, where Nguyen worked prior to Color Labs). The app currently has 29 monthly active users listed. A bit more: it appears that they settled on the “Blue” name recently after using the codename “TestJckJck” (seriously) for several weeks. You can find that Facebook app here, again with several Color/Apple people as developers. Nguyen has been testing TestJckJck on his own profile for some time now. Blue certainly has a better ring to it. My guess right now is that Blue is a new mobile app with deep ties into Facebook Photos. That’s interesting since Facebook may be working on their own stand-alone app in that regard. Earlier today, Nick Bilton reported that Facebook was readying a range of photo filters to use in a mobile app. This may all be related somehow. One more thing: the URL for Blue for Facebook contains “bluecolor”. Update: We’ve since confirmed with multiple sources that Blue will indeed be Color’s next app. Color is a social app for photos. You take photos and then the photos appear on the fly with other photos in your vicinity. You get to see the...
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| Mobile Payments Company Boku Expands Direct Carrier Billing Deals In France Posted: 24 Aug 2011 03:00 PM PDT  Today, mobile payments company Boku is launching direct carrier billing agreements with two of the largest mobile carriers in France— Bouygues Telecom and SFR, offering over 32 million French customers the ability to pay for virtual goods and services using only their existing wireless service account. Historically, mobile payments companies face the challenge of lofty carrier rates. Wireless carriers have charged roughly 30% to 40% to process transactions made via mobile phone accounts, making it very difficult for mobile payment companies like Boku to scale beyond virtual goods. These transactions costs are passed down to developers using Boku, which are then passed to the consumer. To avoid these costs, Boku has been negotiating direct relationships with carriers as a way of possibly avoiding these costs. While the company declined to reveal the financial terms of the agreements, Boku says the France rates are similar to those negotiated in the U.S. and Germany. These deals give Boku nearly 100% coverage of the French mobile market, which is nearly 50 million mobile subscribers total. Bouygues Telecom and SFR are actually launching a new service, called Internet + Mobile, allowing consumers to purchase goods online and use Boku to pay with their mobile phone number. Boku says the purchase process only requires two-clicks and gives online merchants access to a full range of price points of up to 10 Euros. Direct carrier relationships only serve to reinforce the strength of and demand for mobile payments for companies like Boku and competitor Zong. And Zong was actually acquired by eBay earlier this year, for $240 million. Companies have also been eyeing Boku and the company has reportedly become a possible acquisition target for both Google and Apple.
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| RIM’s New QNX BlackBerrys Will Run Android Apps Posted: 24 Aug 2011 11:50 AM PDT  RIM announced well in advance of the PlayBook’s launch that it would be able to play nice with certain Android apps, but aside from a leaked beta, PlayBook owners still have nothing to show for it. RIM may not play the waiting game again with their forthcoming string of QNX-powered BlackBerrys though, as the word from Waterloo is that they will be able to run Android apps right out of the gate. Bloomberg’s sources close to the project have said the Android App Player will be part of the stock software on QNX BlackBerrys when they launch in early 2012. While the addition could potentially add thousands of apps to RIM’s underpopulated App World, it may not be as straightforward as one may hope. When RIM revealed the concept of the App Player, they noted interested users couldn’t just download Android apps from the market and have them run. Rather, developers would have to repackage their code into order to make it into BlackBerry App World. RIM makes it sound like a trivial process (developers will “be able to quickly and easily port their apps”), and they should certainly hope it is — an inconvenienced dev may not see the need to deal with the process if it turns out to be a headache. While RIM’s most recent BlackBerry efforts have been generally well-received, its aging OS can only do so much. QNX is quite possibly BlackBerry’s last chance at holding onto mobile relevance, and superior Android app support could only help the cause. The PlayBook’s App Player launch (supposedly slated for this fall) will be one to watch: if it performs well, then RIM may have just the one-two punch they need to stay in the game. If it doesn’t, well, I’ll miss those keyboards dearly.
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| AT&T’s Hyperlocal Sites Show Off Network Upgrades Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:45 AM PDT  If you’ve ever called your carrier about spotty coverage, then chances are you’ve heard the party line: “we’re working to improve the service in your area.” It’s delightfully vague — you know that your concerns are being considered, just without any concrete timeline for improvement. Today, AT&T has announced their intention to make those mythical service improvements more transparent. Eight microsites for major markets have gone live this morning, all focusing on service enhancements made in the past year. In the Philadelphia area, for example, AT&T takes credit for 961 service updates year-to-date, ranging from installing new cell sites (13) to capacity upgrades (552). Zooming in on parts of the map provides a more detailed breakdown on the work AT&T has done in specific towns and areas. The Dallas-Fort Worth market seems to have benefited the most in 2011 with 1374 network improvements, while Tampa-St. Petersburg has had to make do with only 248. Interestingly, the hyperlocal sites also include projected LTE coverage both before and after the proposed T-Mobile merger. Of course, the post-merger map displays a drastic increase in 4G LTE coverage, but one has to wonder how much of that could’ve been have accomplished anyway if AT&T was willing to throw down cash for network improvements. Aside from aforementioned markets, residents of Houston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis and Atlanta can access their sites to see what exactly AT&T has been up to lately. The sites will be updated weekly, so coverage-concerned callers can see if AT&T is actually making good on their claims.
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| HP TouchPad Android Port Bounty Now Over $2,000 Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:17 AM PDT  The bounty to get a workable version of the Android operating system installed on the now-discontinued HP TouchPad is up to $2,000+, as of today. As we previously reported, the goal of this project is to get some version of Android 2.x onto the TouchPad and, most importantly, stable. If successful, this effort will help keep the HP tablet a little more relevant to those unfortunate early adopters who have been left with a mobile operating system whose future is decidedly uncertain. The project is being led by the modding community called HackNMod, which said it would divvy up the money to developers who achieve certain milestones, such as the first to get a “basic” port up and running, the first to get Wi-Fi working, the first to get audio functional, etc. $450 for the Android port itself comes from HackNMod itself, while the remaining portion will come from sponsors. Today, the popular developer forum site XDA announced it, too, is getting in on the effort and has teamed up with HackNMod to increase the bounty to over $2,000. Its donation comes from an anonymous XDA member. XDA also has a dedicated forum for the TouchPad and TouchPad development. The forum thread announcing the increased bounty is here. One group to watch in this effort is RootzWiki, which is working own its own “Touchdroid” project detailed here. Something tells us they’re going to end up with a good bit of that cash prize.
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| Bloodhound Is On The Scent Of The Perfect Conference App Posted: 24 Aug 2011 10:00 AM PDT  Each year, I go to a lot of conferences. For each and every one I fumble around at the last minute to figure out the schedule, who’s going to be there, etc. When I get there, I trade business cards that I’ll probably never look at again just because there are hundreds of them and no good way to order that information. The logistics surrounding just attending are a pain. And it’s a much bigger pain when you’re helping to actually put one together. Enter Bloodhound. Bloodhound is a new mobile app launching today that aims to alleviate the pains of conference-going — for both attendees and those participating. One simplified way to think about it that investor Dave McClure likes to say is that it’s a “realtime ‘Where’s Waldo’ for conferences”. It’s actually a little surprising that one app hasn’t caught on in this space yet given the pain points. Most people see to either use the more general location services like Foursquare or more broad event planners like Plancast. Or worse, event organizers increasingly try to get you to download their own custom-built one-off app for their conference. These are annoying because you usually have them on your phone for one or two days and then delete them forever. So the prospect of keeping some potentially valuable data is nada. Bloodhound focuses specifically on large events/conferences in aggregate. They want to be the one app you use for each one. To make that happen, they give anyone (ideally an event organizer, but it can be just an attendee too) a simple web-based tool to add an event to their directory. Once you do this, you can input more detailed information or if it’s publicly available, Bloodhound will look for it to build out a comprehensive event area for their app. Once the information is in the app, the app shines as a way to access and trade information leading up to and at the event. Did you meet someone there that you’d like to connect with later? Instead of trading business cards, why not use the app to follow them on LinkedIn and/or Facebook. Or you can just shoot them a pre-populated email with your information with one click. Bloodhound also focuses on realtime recommendations for things you might like at a particular event. For example, if it knows you’ve attended an event earlier in the year with certain types of vendors, it may recommend that you check out certain sessions at the event you’re currently attending. They can do this because they’re more than a one-off app. As you might imagine, these recommendations as well as connections are also interesting to the exhibitors at the events. Meanwhile, promotion of the events themselves within the app will be interesting to conference organizers. There’s certainly potential revenue to be had for Bloodhound down the line. The company has been testing their apps in private beta for the last six months at a handful of events. Currently, over 300 events are using Bloodhound, with over 1,000 expected next month. Today will see the launch of their iPhone app, as well as basic Android and BlackBerry apps. They’ll also have a full mobile HTML5 site — this is key since they don’t want just a certain percentage of conference attendees with one type of device to have access. The startup has raised $250,000 from McClure’s 500 Startups, Jason Portnoy, and Jay Weintraub. The founders are Anthony Krumeich, Rick Fulton, and Patrick Dugan. Click to view slideshow.Bloodhound is a free mobile application that lets people connect through Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or a pre-filled out email with all your contact information with people that they meet...
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| Tinypay.me Raises $1 Million, Moving HQ to San Francisco Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:32 AM PDT  E-commerce platform Tinypay.me, which emerged from 2010′s Le Web conference as a sort of Twitter for e-commerce, has just raised $1 million from Aksoy Internet Ventures. The money will be used, in part, to relocate company headquarters from the Netherlands to the heart of Silicon Valley: San Francisco. Tinypay.me bills itself as the easiest way to sell stuff online, since all you have to do to start selling is fill out a single form. The entire process takes just 60 seconds, the company says. To use Tinypay.me, you fill out the form, notify your friends on Facebook and Twitter, and accept payments via PayPal. The service supports both physical and digital goods and generates a page that can be embedded into websites. No account is needed to use the service, as everything is handled through your e-mail. Says co-founder and CEO Melvin Tercan, the team is moving to Silicon Valley because “our mission is to conquer the world and there's no better place to start than here.” Chairman Taner Aksoy of Aksoy Internet Ventures, a Turkish-based investment firm, also commented that he thinks Tinypay.me “will be a big hit globally.” Adds Tercan, Tinypay.me chose Aksoy Internet Ventures “because they have more than 10 years experience with building Sahibinden.com, the largest classified site in Turkey.” “They’re able to help us with a lot of experience and advice to grow the company,” he says. Tinypay.me is essentially an e-commerce platform that enables people to sell physical and digital items in the easiest way that is possible. The best example is that you’re able...
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| Point, Apple: Court Issues EU-Wide Preliminary Injunction On Galaxy Smartphones (Update) Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:27 AM PDT  A pretty sizable chunk of Europe was dealt a rather massive blow this morning in the form of a preliminary injunction on some Galaxy smartphones. Of course, this was at the behest of Apple. The tablets — the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and Galaxy Tab 7 — made it out of the court room alive, which is a pretty big deal for Samsung who just a few weeks ago had to deal with an EU-wide preliminary injunction on the GalTab 10.1. The German court eventually lifted that ban temporarily across the EU with the exception of Germany. Ya know, since the court actually has the right to rule in its own country. Unfortunately, Samsung’s smartphones are now under attack, as the Hague court in the Netherlands issued an EU-wide preliminary injunction on the Galaxy S, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Ace, which will go into effect in mid-October. Unlike the Galaxy Tab injunction that was based on an intellectual property right (Community Design 003781832), this smartphone injunction is related to one patent: EP 2059868, related to photo management software. IP rights are granted by an agency of the EU, and thus don’t really fall under a single country’s jurisdiction. Patents, on the other hand, must receive approval from each country. Here’s a copy of the order (be warned: Dutch/English dictionary required): In this case, the patent in question was not made valid in a number of different European nations because Apple didn’t follow through with the application process and pay the related costs of approval. Countries in which the patent is not valid include Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Spain, according to FOSS Patents. So what does this mean? Well, as far as the legality of it goes, Samsung’s Korean parent branch will remain mostly unaffected by this. The Korean arm can ship its products to any of the European countries (patent valid or not), minus the Netherlands. However, three of its subsidiary branches, all registered in the Netherlands, will have to stop shipping and selling the three Galaxy smartphones named above. What’s unfortunate for Samsung is that it’s European hub seems to be within the Netherlands, reports FOSS Patents. Though the company is still allowed to ship phones into Europe from Korea, or other subsidiary branches outside of the Netherlands, it will take a major reorganization of the logistics chain at Samsung. Update: The BBC is reporting that Samsung will indeed reorganize its system to provide for its European customers. Here is Samsung’s official statement:
Started by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne, Apple has expanded from computers to consumer electronics over the last 30 years, officially changing their name from Apple Computer,...
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| StackMob, The “Heroku For Mobile”, Partners With… Heroku! Posted: 24 Aug 2011 08:00 AM PDT  We’ve written about StackMob twice, both times calling it the “Heroku For Mobile” in the title. Yeah, “X For Y” titles are pretty lame. But I mean, that’s pretty much exactly what StackMob is — and they embrace it. In fact, they embrace it so much that today they’re announcing a key partnership with… wait for it… Heroku! StackMob is integrating with Heroku as an add-on that extends the mobile platform to all Ruby developers on Heroku. This means APIs, OAuth, Push Notifications, and analytics for mobile are all coming over in the integration. With these easy-to-implement solutions, developers can spend less time worrying about backend development for both desktop and mobile and more time worrying about frontend implementation. “As the mobile market continues to grow, we see not only more data-driven applications being built but ones with more complex data,” says StackMob CEO and co-founder Ty Amell. “These highly interactive apps require code to process data on servers instead of on devices. The Heroku add-on allows StackMob to extend its technology to Ruby developers so they can focus on building feature-rich applications.” StackMob says that other features such as social integration and Node.js support will be coming soon. They’re also offering up a $1,000 prize for the best mobile app built using both StackMob and Heroku during the Dreamforce Hackathon. Even though StackMob is still in private beta, all Heroku users that want access will get it with the partnership.
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| Motorola Atrix’s “Most Powerful” Claims Shot Down In U.K. Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:59 AM PDT  There’s a fine line between a bold advertising campaign and playing fast and loose with the truth, and it looks like Motorola may have just tip-toed over it. According to the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Authority, Motorola has been banned from calling their Atrix handset “the most powerful smartphone in the world” in marketing and promotional materials. While the Atrix launched domestically back in February, it made its U.K. debut as an Orange exclusive this past May. Unfortunately, that launch window put it right up against the release of the Samsung Galaxy S II, which packs a a 1.2 Ghz processor into its svelte frame. ASA officials took issue with the fact that the Atrix, in spite of the lofty claims surrounding it, actually has a slower processor than the Samsung Galaxy S II. Motorola and their ad agency were apparently working with a different definition of the word “powerful”: Motorola’s angle called into the play the performance and flexibility of the Atrix when used with its lapdock. The heart of the matter comes down to what exactly people define as “power” in a smartphone. The ASA’s official ruling states that they “considered most viewers would understand the claim ‘the world’s most powerful smartphone’, in context to a smartphone, to mean that the product had, among other features, a faster processor than any other smartphone.” It’s a fair assumption for the ASA to make: Motorola’s definition deals more with the versatility of their handset, and the phone’s hardware is a limiting factor on how well the rest of the experience works. In common mobile parlance, the processor is where all the horsepower is, and that’s certainly what my mind jumps to first. Motorola has a bit of repositioning to do if they want to keeping pushing the Atrix in the U.K., but in light of recent developments, it may not rank too high on their list of priorities.
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| Dwolla Launches “Proxi” For Proximity-Based Mobile Payments Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:28 AM PDT  Online and mobile payment platform Dwolla just launched a new feature called “Proxi” which allows users to send and receive cash-based mobile payments based on their current proximity to another connected device. The technology bypasses the need for special hardware, like Square’s plastic dongles or NFC chips built into a phone, in order to make mobile payments. Instead, the interface provides a simple way for Dwolla’s users to find nearby contacts and send them money using only the mobile app itself. Dwolla, for those unaware, is a company with a unique take on digital payments. Its vision is that consumers, not third-parties, should dictate how their payments network operates. What this means for Dwolla and its users is a payments network that’s devoid of personal information. And most importantly, Dwolla’s inroad to this planned disruption is cash, an under-represented market in electronic payments. Dwolla’s “Proxi” Beta With the new “Proxi” (beta) feature, Dwolla founder Ben Milne explains that the company is looking to accomplish much of the same thing that NFC makes possible, but without the need for expensive hardware. With NFC, there’s added security, because you have to be physically present to pay. Proxi uses GPS for that same reason. When launching Proxi, the mobile app pulls up a list of those who are close to you and able to accept payments, including both nearby users and merchants. And like everything else Dwolla does, Proxi considers users’ security first. For example, you can control whether you want to be visible only to your contacts or to a wider range of Dwolla users, you can control how long you will be visible, and you can control the distance at which you are visible, with settings for 300 ft., 1 mile or 5 miles. The Proxi beta will initially be available on iOS, and will roll out to other mobile platforms (Android, Windows Phone) in the coming weeks. The beta is private for now, but TechCrunch readers can request immediate access here: https://www.dwolla.com/proxi/beta. There will be limited spots available, so access is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Pros and Cons of the Dwolla System Proxi is the sort of feature that could take Dwolla from “interesting idea” territory to becoming a more practical application. Secure, person-to-person (or person-to-business) mobile payments without the high fees associated with PayPal, or the need for special hardware? Sounds good here. The only drawback is that Dwolla doesn’t directly connect to your own bank account, in the same way that your debit card does, which could confuse first-time users who don’t understand why other financial institutions are involved. Instead, Dwolla has partnerships with The Veridian Group, a subsidiary of Veridian Credit Union, in Waterloo, Iowa, and The Members Group (TMG) another financial and credit union service organization owned by Iowa credit unions and their members. Through these organizations’, which hold the funds in Dwolla’s users’ accounts, people can send and receive money from their own bank accounts. And while Dwolla is easy to use, it’s hardly available for use everywhere, the way that your debit would be. Finally, although Dwolla’s fees aren’t outrageous, they are present. Dwolla has a flat 25-cents per transaction fee, regardless of the transaction amount. That’s lower than PayPal’s 30-cents per transaction fee. There’s also no additional percentage amount per transaction, even though PayPal currently charges an additional 2.9% for transactions under $3,000. Dwolla currently has 40,000 users, with user-to-user transactions representing the highest volume of transactions and B2B transactions representing the highest dollar value. The company will be rolling out more technologies over the month of September, so stay tuned. Dwolla provides a free web based software platform which allows users to send, receive, and request funds from any other user. Dwolla’s maximum transaction cost is 25 cents per...
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| China Never Received An Application For Approval Of Googorola Deal Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:19 AM PDT  The era of Googorola is nearly upon us, and the implications of such a deal are still greatly unknown to most of us. We could see some pretty amazing (and odd) gizmos and gadgets spawn from this little get together, and we can definitely expect a stronger Android platform than ever before. Other Android OEMs have remained relatively at bay thus far, but that could change in an instant when they see the first flagship Moto handset with a purely Android experience. In fact, an end to MotoBlur may be the most exciting result of Googorola, indeed (at least to us end users). But there are a few things that need to happen first. Google has obviously started on its trip through the obstacle course that is the United States regulatory approval system. In Google’s original statement on Wednesday, it claimed that the deal was subject to regulatory approval in the U.S., the EU, and other jurisdictions. Funny, one of those other jurisdictions happens to be one of the biggest in the world: China. And Google has yet to send China’s Commerce Ministry an application for approval. Apparently the rules in China are as follows: If your company earns an annual global revenue of at least 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion in USD) or your company generates annual revenue of 400 million yuan (US $62.6 million) inside China, you best get your butt over to the Commerce Ministry and get approval for any proposed acquisition. “The ministry has so far not received any application for an anti-monopoly review,” said Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang in a Reuters interview. Google has long had some beef with China. Over the past few years the censorship of results wore on the search giant, and with the cyber attacks that happened in January 2010, Google basically said it wouldn’t be playing by the rules anymore, even if it meant leaving China for good. Having to deal with the Chinese government likely isn’t the most pleasurable part of the merger, but you gotta do what you gotta do, right Googs? Google provides search and advertising services, which together aim to organize and monetize the world’s information. In addition to its dominant search engine, it offers a plethora of...
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| Fad Or Future? Booktrack Adds Music, Sound Effects To E-Books; Peter Thiel Invests Posted: 24 Aug 2011 07:05 AM PDT  A new startup called Booktrack launched this morning (actually, the NYT launched it yesterday), in an effort to create a whole new genre of e-books. Booktrack creates synchronized soundtracks for e-books that aim to “dramatically boost the reader’s imagination and engagement”. The startup’s technology pairs music scores and sound effects with text, automatically paced to one’s reading speed. Booktracks can be downloaded for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and Android apps are on the way. Check out the Booktrack Bookshelf for available titles. The company has teamed up with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Park Road Post, and Full Fathom Five, and its technology is already fully integrated in the new novel ‘The Power of Six’ by Pittacus Lore (James Frey), published by HarperCollins Children’s Books. Booktrack and publishers will share profits with participating authors, composers, and musicians, the company said in a press release. Booktrack is backed by former PayPal and early Facebook investor (and longtime board member) Peter Thiel as well as authors who will be collaborating with the company. Other initial investors in and advisors to Booktrack include Mark D’Arcy, Director of Global Creative Solutions at Facebook, and Derek Handley, CEO and cofounder of mobile marketing and media company The Hyperfactory. The latter will also serve as Booktrack’s chairman. Paul Cameron, Booktrack’s co-founder and CEO, in the press release compares e-books in their current form with ‘movies with no soundtrack’, but I’m not sure I agree with that statement – reading is an entirely different way of consuming content. I’m not sure a soundtrack attached to an e-book can do anything but distract from the reading experience, actually. Of course, I’ve only briefly tested Booktrack’s technology with a single e-book, so I haven’t entirely made up my mind yet about its potential to disrupt the e-book genre. Wired’s Charlie Sorrel, for one, thinks the idea stinks. He makes a good case, but that won’t (and shouldn’t) stop the company from trying, evidently. In the coming weeks and months, Booktrack says it will publish a specially-curated compendium of short stories from some of the top authors in the world, starting in September with ‘In the South’ by Salman Rushdie. Booktrack will also release editions of classics, including titles such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Romeo and Juliet and more. I’m very much looking forward to reading Paul Carr‘s thoughts on this one.
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| Social Gaming Network PapayaMobile Hits 25M Users Posted: 24 Aug 2011 06:15 AM PDT  Today, PapayaMobile, the social gaming network for Android, is announcing a new milestone: it has topped 25 million users, which represents over 940% growth since the beginning of last year. The company attributes the increase to both the growing demand for mobile social games as well as the rapidly expanding Android install base worldwide. Papaya also released several other network statistics along with the user milestone figure, including the following:
The company showcased a few of its top-performing applications on the network, too, like Treasure Fever which sees a monthly ARPPU of $10.33, and X-City, whose ARPPU is $9.17. Both of these apps use Papaya’s Game Engine technology, which makes it easier to build social titles in a matter of weeks, the company says. Papaya’s Sharp Words for Mobage In addition, Papaya’s Head of Developer Relations, Paul Chen, provided his take on the recent Mobage deal from DeNA and ngmoco, which translated the popular Japanese mobile social gaming platform for Android into English and Chinese. Says Chen, after analyzing a sampling of Mobage games:
Except for Pocket Frogs (10,000-50,000 installs) and We Rule (5,000-10,000 installs), the apps Chen examined (Paper Toss, Ninja Royale, Haypi Kingdom and Paradise Island) all have 1,000 to 5,000 installs. In total, Mobage has 25 games running on ngCore, its Game Engine product. At the time of Mobage’s launch in July, DeNA/ngmoco said that it would release more titles, a Mobage iOS version and expand Mobage Global to more markets. Clearly there is some rivalry here, given each company’s focus on the mobile social gaming space. PapayaMobile is Android's leading social gaming network, offering a full suite of social gaming features, Android's most diverse set of monetization tools, and the fastest 2D OpenGL engine. ...
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