Flipboard, the popular iPad app for aggregating content from social networks and other sites in magazine format, has added its first brand partner: Oprah. Every new Flipboard download will include a section contains stories, updates and select programming from The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah.com, O Magazine and OWN: Oprah Winfrey network. Is there an Oprah theme here? The move stems in part from the TV personality's expressed affinity for the Apple tablet. "This is a great way for Oprah's audience all over the world to have access to and share content from Oprah's various platforms," said Glenn Kaino, senior …

There are two new TV spots out from performance apparel maker Under Armour touting its Charged Cotton line. The ads take place in a darkened Dick's Sporting Goods store, and show UA athletes racing about the store in their Charged Cotton sports apparel, with bolts of electricity coursing through their shirts.  The athletes in the ads include Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps, Miles Austin of the Dallas Cowboys and Crystal Langhorne of the WNBA's Washington Mystics.  At the end of the spot, Austin takes a flying jump off a t-shirt display and leaps 'into' a large in-store poster promoting …

Major appliance brand Maytag has a new campaign in the spin called "What's Inside Matters." I haven't seen it yet, but from the description I'm thinking it has a kind of Toy Story feel, since it follows the daily adventures of a doll and blanket. The title, according to the company, is a kind of double-entendre referring both to what the machines are made of and what people put in them. The campaign, by creative AOR Arc Worldwide, part of Leo Burnett, comprises two TV spots. They follow the family blanket and a favorite doll through their daily travails, …

Leading all smartphone operating systems, Android accounted for nearly half of all mobile ad impressions shown last month, according to a new report from Millennial Media. "Measured on that basis, 14 of the top 20 devices run Android, though the iPhone still tops the list and the BlackBerry Curve is the second most common phone model," notes All Things Digital's Mobilized blog. However, in terms of app revenue by platform, the numbers are largely reversed, with iOS apps generating 47% of revenue -- compared to 36% of revenue generated by Android apps. Meanwhile, BlackBerry apps accounted for 7% of …

Fortune takes about 4,000 words to say that Twitter is not well. "Besides the CEO shuffles, there are secret board meetings, executive power struggles, a plethora of coaches and consultants, and disgruntled founders," it writes. "These theatrics, which go well beyond the usual angst at a new venture, have contributed to a growing perception that innovation has stalled and management is in turmoil." Twitter exes say they spent much of last year investing in infrastructure to make the service more reliable, while they also have taken steps to address management shortcomings. "Yet even as management tackles its executive and …

So, is Arianna Huffington a slave owner or a crowdsourcing pioneer? GigoOm feels compelled to pose the question now that one of Huffington's many blogger minions has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing her of "unjust enrichment" for profiting from the labor of others. Unfortunately for Huffington, the blogger behind the lawsuit, Jonathan Tasini, is a union leader, and settled a not-dissimilar case with The New York Times for $18 million back in 2001. What's more, "Tasini ... isn't the only one to pull out the strike talk," GigaOm notes. "The Newspaper Guild endorsed the idea of a strike against …

San Francisco city officials this week convened an advisory council that includes local companies such as Twitter and Zynga to assess the city's tax structure, reports MarketWatch.com. "The announcement comes shortly after the city's Board of Supervisors voted to approve a payroll-tax exemption aimed at keeping microblogging service Twitter headquartered in town," MarketWatch notes. Twitter, Zynga and Yelp have all reportedly suggested that a move outside of San Francisco might make better financial sense, as they add new employees and gear up for possible IPOs. The ad-hoc advisory council will "recommend new policies related to high-growth technology companies," and …

Consumers are becoming more aware of 3D televisions over the past six months, according to the NPD Group, though with that awareness comes concerns about the technology. According to the market research company, consumer awareness 3D LCD televisions rose from 36% in September 2010 to 28% in February 2011. Awareness of 3D plasma TVs rose to 32% from 21% in those six months. Yet in that same survey, consumers revealed their two major pain points for buying a 3D television were the price and the need to wear glasses. In fact, those two sticking points have become more …

While the recession took a big bite out of home-décor spending, it looks like consumers are spending more to live it up at home. A new study from NPD Group, a market research company based in Port Washington, N.Y, says that 12% of Americans entertained at home more this year than they in years past, while 37% say they're entertaining at least as often as prior years. And while the entire dinnerware segment continues to show declines, the casual segment, which represents more than half of all sales—grew by 4% in a 12-month period.

Razofish today unveiled its second annual report spotlighting five technology changing the business landscape this year. The Razorfish 5 for 2010 are: Near Field Communication – NFC, wireless technology that facilitates mobile payments, has been available for years, but will hit its tipping point in 2011 with Android and potentially Apple building the technology into their devices. “It will usher in a whole new era of utilization for personal devices including payment, couponing and location-based information from merchants." Interface Changes –Consumers are purchasing devices with touch or motion interfaces, such as tablets and gaming consoles, in record …