How much is Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 debacle going to cost the Korean tech giant? Somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 billion in operating profit, Samsung estimates.

As smartphones become central to our lives, it's no wonder that investors are so hot on mobile data. To that end, mobile data platform mParticle just received $17.5 million in fresh funding from Bain Capital Ventures, and existing investor Social Capital.

Heading into the holiday season, Facebook is hoping brands will consider "app remarketing" on its platform. Simply put, the strategy is being sold as an opportunity to build custom audiences based on the actions customers take -- or in some cases, haven't taken in a while -- in your app.

From mobile platforms to in-person interactions, customer experience (CX) remains an enormous challenge for many businesses. In fact, while 84% of companies aspire to be leaders in this arena, just one in five deliver good or great CX, according to fresh data from Forrester Research.

Not surprisingly, mobile video is emerging as the best way to reach consumers of diverse cultural backgrounds. New research from Yahoo, for instance, finds that among Spanish-dominant respondents (those who prefer to speak Spanish over English), 94% now use their mobile devices to watch video at least once a week.

With money to burn, Facebook is betting its future on virtual reality, and made this pretty clear when it dropped $2 billion on Oculus VR in 2014. As we just learned, however, that was only the beginning. Separate and apart from the Oculus deal, Facebook has already pumped $250 million into VR research and development -- and has set aside an additional $250 for future VR investments, Mark Zuckerberg told those tuning into Thursday's Oculus Connect event.

Hoping to get consumers' attention? Good luck. More or less, that's the conclusion of some fresh findings from Google. Among other challenges, consumers are increasingly splitting their focus between multiple screens.

Real or imagined, there's a growing sense that everyone's digital dealings are at risk of exposure, manipulation, or theft. Regardless of the actual threat level, top platforms are rushing to meet demand for more secure lines of communication. To that end, Facebook has reportedly finished rolling out one-to-one "secret conversations" to all of its 900 million or so Messenger users.

When is a pixel more than just a pixel? When we're talking Google's latest entrant into the smartphone space, of course. Unveiled at a special event on Tuesday, the Pixel and Pxel XL are impressive gadgets.

Google is hosting a big event in San Francisco on Tuesday, which is expected to include some serious hardware announcements. However, analysts appear to be divided on the implications of any such unveilings. "Let's be clear: Google is not turning into a hardware business," according to Thomas Husson, VP and principal analyst, at Forrester Research. "On the contrary, Google wants to showcase that it will continue to be a relevant platform to access information on whatever connected device consumers use moving forward," Husson explains.