What a difference a year makes, and, in Microsoft's case, not for the better. Ahead of the company's fiscal second quarter earnings announcement, Reuters reports: "The world's largest software company is set to report lower profit as PC sales growth fizzles, and it struggles to convince investors that it can grab a foothold in the fast-moving mobile and tablet markets." As Tim Bajarin, president of tech research firm Creative Strategies, explains: "They missed the smartphone revolution, and even though they were the first to really push the tablet, Apple basically redesigned it and left Microsoft in the dust." According …

Purchases of paid apps in the Android Market are apparently not keeping pace with Android sales, and, as Android platform manager Eric Chu said this week, Google is "not happy" about it. As a result, Chu says that Android will debut an in-app payments system this quarter, Forbes reports. "This has helped developers on Apple's mobile platform to grow revenues by taking advantage of the exploding virtual goods mobile market," Forbes notes. Also, late last year, Google launched carrier billing with AT&T, which lets customers directly bill apps to their phone bills. Chu is also working to improve user …

Revenue generated by mobile applications will nearly triple from $5.2 billion last year to $15.1 billion in 2011, according to Gartner. As The Los Angeles Times notes, "That will come from 18 billion downloads of the programs that run on a growing variety of smart phones and tablets from Apple Inc., Android, BlackBerry and others." According to Gartner, about 80% of app downloads are free, but that over the next few years, users will begin paying for more of them as they come to trust the apps and associated payment mechanisms. "Many are wondering if the app frenzy we …

A day after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's fan page was hacked, and just days before Data Privacy Day, the social net is talking -- of all things -- online security. "A key part of controlling information has always been protecting it from security threats like viruses, malware and hackers," Facebook writes in a blog post. "That's why we've developed a number of complex systems that operate behind the scenes to keep you secure on Facebook." As CNNMoney.com points out, Zuckerberg wasn't the only world figure to have his Facebook page hacked this week. "A hacker posted a message …

Aligning mobile technology, commerce, and consumer data like never before, Apple reportedly plans to add "Near-Field Communication" technology to the next iPhone and iPad. Simply put, consumers will be able to make purchases with the NFC-supported devices, which will have direct access to all manner of data from credit-card numbers and bank information to iTunes gift-card balances and prior purchase histories. "The main goal for Apple would be to get a piece of the $6.2 trillion Americans spend each year on goods and services," reports Bloomberg, citing comments from financial industry adviser Richard …

Marking its second reported acquisition of the day, Google has gobbled up SayNow, according to the voice messaging startup. "Since 2005, we've explored fun and entertaining ways for people to talk with each other," SayNow's co-founders write in a blog post. "Through the web, smartphones, and even land lines, our products brought communities together through the power of voice. And as Google has some of the best voice products in the world, we believe combining forces with the Google Voice team will let us innovate in new and unexplored areas." Per the deal, SayNow says is doesn't have any …

By July, Facebook will require that all game partners use Facebook Credits as their virtual payment processing system. Bottom line, "The social network wants to run all payments in-house," eWeek reports. "Facebook is throwing its muscle into its vaunted application platform, requiring that its Facebook Credits system be used by all social game developers to process payments on the social network." Credits is a virtual currency system that lets consumers enter their payment information once to buy goods and earn money on games in the social network. According to Facebook, Credits currently processes more than 70% of …

Continuing where it left off last year, Google reportedly plans to hire over 6,000 employees in 2011. "With the hiring plans, Google will have more than 30,000 employees by the start of 2012," writes MecuryNews.com, "a workforce still significantly smaller than Silicon Valley giants like Intel, Cisco Systems and Hewlett-Packard, but more than double the size of rivals like Yahoo, and more than six times the size of the company that has become its most formidable competitor -- Facebook." Regarding the hiring binge, Google SVP Alan Eustace says, "Obviously, we're optimistic about the future." While much of …

Facebook has acquired hyper-local mobile advertising startup Rel8tion, reports AllThingsD's eMoney blog. In a statement, Facebook characterizes the "recent" deal as a "talent acquisition," and says that Rel8tion's engineering team with join its growing Seattle office. "There's not much information on the company, but according to the little information available on its site, it was trying to create a system for syncing up a person's location and demographics with the most relevant ad-inventory," according to TechCrunch. Facebook no doubt has an interest in mobile advertising. Still, this latest buy is miniscule compared to Apple and Google dropping …

Google is in the process of acquiring social media startup fflick for about $10 million, TechCrunch is reporting. Fflick organizes social media data -- with a particular focus on movies -- while also filtering and analyzing information, and packaging it in a consumer-friendly manner. "At this point it's unclear if Google intends to keep fflick alive, or if this is primarily about the startup's talent and the sentiment analysis engine that drives its recommendations," writes Techcrunch. "The service is pretty straightfoward: you sign in with your Twitter account and are shown a list of top-ranking movies. Next …