by Steve Smith on Sep 30, 3:45 PM
Only weeks after Google launched its Google Wallet NFC-based m-payment technology into the wild, most of the major handset manufactures (but one) announced their support for the Isis implementation of the model. HTC, LG, Motorola Mobility, RIM, Samsung, Sony Ericsson and DeviceFidelity have all lined up behind the joint venture toward setting a standard for the mobile NFC ecosystem.
by Steve Smith on Sep 29, 4:00 PM
Years ago, Amazon was the first mobile storefront from which I actually made a purchase on my phone. Other than the occasional ringtone or pre-smartphone app download, the company I had trusted with my credit card, identity, purchase and browsing history was the one I first trusted with my virgin M-buy. They were gentle.
by Steve Smith on Sep 27, 4:45 PM
If raw reach was the strategy, then Google's open-platform mobile OS running across multiple OEM hardware and carriers is performing according to plan. The latest Nielsen survey of U.S. consumers shows that the Android may be a friendly monster robot, but it is eating the market. Among those polled, 43% now own a phone based on the Google mobile OS. And the momentum is with the platform. Among those who have purchased a smartphone in the last three months, 56% bought an Android model.
by Steve Smith on Sep 26, 3:56 PM
If you want to take a sip of Ken Burns' upcoming documentary series on Prohibition before its early October on-air premiere, then pull out your iPhone or iPad. The public broadcaster is taking an app-first approach to the series. iOS users only will be able to access the episode for the next week or so, and then the series will be available on demand at the PBS site after the episodes air.
by Steve Smith on Sep 23, 12:59 PM
Going back to the Mickey Mouse Club in the 1950s and into the 2000s, Disney's studios have been training grounds for the Annettes and Britneys of their generation. And now the mobile gaming platform may serve as a farm team for company franchises. The company has high hopes for a new game app called "Where's My Water" that stars s cute gator named Swampy who just wants to take a bath.
by Steve Smith on Sep 22, 4:15 PM
Pandora has always had a generally simple and clean online look. Your playlists were in a right-nav menu and the music tracks streamed across the center of the screen. But in a major relaunch of the site, the users of the streaming music service on iPad may find something very familiar about this look and feel. Yup, it seems to be the spitting image of the iPad app in portrait mode
by Steve Smith on Sep 21, 2:45 PM
In a promotion that blends a virtual animated pop star with the cutting-edge techniques of augmented reality (AR), Toyota is using one of its smartphone apps to put the singing cartoon moppet Hatsune Miku on your desktop. iOS and soon Android owners can download the free Toyota Shopping Tool app from their respective app stores and aim the camera view at a coded printout that simulates a stage. The AR does the rest, making the virtual singer appear on the virtual stage to belt out a song.
by Steve Smith on Sep 20, 4:30 PM
Financial news provider Bloomberg has a novel, nicely crafted news app in the iPhone app store this week, leveraging its radio content in an on-demand service. Bloomberg Radio+ is a free app that streams the current Bloomberg radio broadcast directly to the iPhone. At the same time it maintains an on-demand library of recent shows that can be downloaded and saved for later playback.
by Steve Smith on Sep 19, 1:05 PM
With the underwhelming performance of the Nintendo 3DS this year, and continued evidence of the great gaming company losing handheld gamers to mobile devices, isn't it time Nintendo started porting its tremendous franchises outside of its own platforms? That is the question many industry analysts have raised -- along with investors in the company.
by Steve Smith on Sep 16, 2:30 PM
PayPal says that its plan for super-charging m-commerce is more than just enabling an extension of its online payment infrastructure to mobile. "We're not just shoving a credit card on a phone," says President Scott Thompson in a blog post announcing the strategy yesterday. Oh, no, nothing so narrow, he seems to be saying. "PayPal is reimagining money."