Articles from mocoNews

Is The End Of All-You-Can Eat Data Plans Coming?

Explore Article mocoNews (Jun 2 2010)

AT&T’s change in data plan prices today may mark the beginning of the end for unlimited data plans. Quite literally, the U.S. might be at a crossroads were demand is reaching supply, and people will have to pay up or simply cut back on their usage to remedy the problem. While AT&T’s price changes may have caught some off guard, the discussion about reaching bandwidth capacity has been raging from Washington D.C. to all of the major wireless conferences. AT&T (NYSE: T) is not the first to have tweaked their plans, and if you aren’t too picky, there’s definitely still ... (Read Full Article)

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MasterCard Is Making It Easier To Pay By Mobile Phone

Explore Article mocoNews (May 25 2010) SMS

MasterCard said today it will let third-party developers tap into its payment systems, so they can be used for online or mobile applications. By opening up its services, the credit card company becomes more competitive in the next generation of platforms, which are the target of more than a dozen or so start-ups that have raised millions of dollars to make paying by cell phone more ubiquitous. Through the program, developers will be able to bypass having to get a merchant agreement, setting up the system and making the consumer enter data each time. Instead, developers could use the new ... (Read Full Article)

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T-Mobile Prepaid Prices Drop Lower And Emphasize Texting

Explore Article mocoNews (May 18 2010)

T-Mobile USA has unveiled two new prepaid plans that emphasize texting over talking. The announcement is in line with what other prepaid providers are offering—big bundles of services from voice to email and internet access for one low price without the commitment of a contract. While they represent fairly good bargains, it’s unclear how much this growing segment of the U.S. market is interested in adding all of the bells and whistles to a prepaid plan. Instead of offering on an unlimited basis, T-Mobile’s new plans are a little less comprehensive. For $15 a month, users can have unlimited texting ... (Read Full Article)

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How Apple's iAd Could Blow Marketers' Mobile Budgets

Explore Article mocoNews (May 3 2010) MMS , Mobile Marketing

Dozens of questions remain about Apple’s plans to get into the mobile advertising business, from how much a campaign will cost to which applications will they run on. Based on information Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is telling advertising agencies, we were able to get answers for at least one: how much a campaign could potentially cost on the iAd platform—and the results are startling. According to our number crunching, CPMs will be highly variable but in some some cases could wind up being triple what marketers are used to paying for banners, and double the price of a video ad on ... (Read Full Article)

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Six Lessons We've Learned About Mobile Apps (Free And Paid)

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 26 2010) Mobile Applications , Smartphones

Paul Reddick is the CEO of Handmark, which publishes software and games for handheld devices. If you believe what you hear, it’s going to be either free or paid across the media world–just like it’s got to be either the Yankees or the Red Sox, Batman or the Joker, Tom or Jerry. Well, forget what you hear. In many media markets, free channels exist next to paid channels—newspapers are a good example. And so it will be in the world of mobile apps: both free and paid apps will have significant roles moving forward. People love to create stark choices ... (Read Full Article)

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Vibes Media Acquires SMS Ad Server Zeep Mobile

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 24 2010) Mobile Marketing , Americas

Mobile marketer Vibes Media has acquired text-messaging ad server Zeep Mobile. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Zeep’s technology will be folded into Vibes’ platform and all Zeep employees will become part of Vibes Media. Additionally, Zeep President and CEO Scott Robertson has agreed to relocate to Vibes’ headquarters in Chicago. The company’s engineering team currently based in Vancouver, Canada, will joining Robertson there as well. Those Zeep staffers will work under engineering head Rishi Bhatia, the head of AOL’s former mobile marketing unit Third Screen Media. Bhatia and his Third Screen Media team defected from AOL (NYSE: AOL) to Vibes earlier ... (Read Full Article)

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Placecast Gets $3 Million More For Location-Based Ads

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 23 2010) SMS

Location-based ad startup Placecast has added $3 million in additional funding. The company says it will use the cash to expand its ‘ShopAlerts’ service, which sends people promotional text messages when they’re near a specific retail location. (It’s all opt-in). This is a double hot space—with both Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) buying up mobile ad networks and with ‘location’ seemingly replacing ‘real-time’ as the buzz word du jour. And indeed, in its announcement, Placecast takes the highly unusual step of mentioning a specific company that theoretically could be interested in acquiring it. Talk about chutzpah! (From the ... (Read Full Article)

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How Twitter Can Become A New Breed Of Technology Company

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 18 2010) Mobile Social Networking

Khris Loux is the founder and CEO of Echo, a commenting platform. He tweets at @Khrisloux. With leadership from its founders and a significant infusion of cash from investors, Twitter has created an innovative no-charge service for users and industry-standard APIs for developers. But more recently, access to its data through those APIs has been fairly inconsistent, with particularly opaque procedures for getting at its most coveted dataset, its full stream of Tweets. Twitter has recently begun selling publishers, big and small, access to all its Tweets. Its licensing of the “full firehose,” as it is also known, to Google ... (Read Full Article)

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Pandora: These Numbers May Surprise You

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 18 2010)

For years, Tim Westergren was on the front lines of a difficult royalty battle. But instead of becoming a casualty, Pandora and other internet radio providers managed to forge a workable rate structure - at least one that kept the lights on. But this is still one huge royalty bill, and Pandora is now one of the biggest contributors. Just recently, Westergren disclosed top-line, 2009 revenues of $50 million, but royalty obligations to SoundExchange alone (a cost that does not include publishing) topped $28 million, according to Westergren. (Read Full Article)

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Mobile Ad Net Todacell Raises Additional $1 Million For Global Expansion

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 9 2010)

Smartphone ad network Todacell has added another $1 million in funding to an existing $1 million round the Tel Aviv-based company raised back in June. Israeli VC AfterDox, which provided the last $1 million, also ponied up the same amount this time as well. In addition to the $2 million total funding from AfterDox, which is comprised of current and former execs from mobile tech company Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), Todacell has also received $350,000 seed funding from the Fore Group when it first opened its doors nearly three years ago. (Read Full Article)

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Mobile Content Bits: Vodafone/Foursquare, FoneStarz/Disney; 3UK/Warner Bros

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 4 2010) Mobile Applications , Operator Services , EMEA

—Vodafone/Foursquare: A European operator deal for the location-aware mobile social media app. Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) UK customers can now “check-in” to Foursquare, through Vodafone’s live! portal, through the MyWeb sign-on, or by texting Foursquare to 97886. Normal data charges still apply to use the app, though. —FoneStarz/Disney: More content deals for Vodafone…the Vodafone 360 app store will now feature apps for various Disney (NYSE: DIS) brands. They are being developed by FoneStarz, which had a pre-existing relationship with Disney, building and managing its mobile content portals in the UK and eight other countries. —3UK/Warner Bros.: The mobile operator has now ... (Read Full Article)

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Mobile Ad Network Mobclix Acquires Heartbeat For iPhone Analytics

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 1 2010) Smartphones

Mobclix, a mobile ad network aggregator, has acquired Heartbeat from New York-based Enormego for its ability to analyze the performance of iPhone applications, including sales reporting, statistics and crash reports. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Not only has the mobile ad network acquisitions been heating up, but so has the analytics space as developers and brands demand to know how their mobile applications are performing. In December, Flurry merged with Pinch Media to combine the two mobile analytics companies. (Read Full Article)

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What's The T-Mobile/Orange UK Merger Mean For The Mobile Web?

Explore Article mocoNews (Mar 1 2010) Operator Services , EMEA

The European Commission has approved the much-needed 50/50 JV merger of France Telecom’s Orange UK and Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile UK, subject to them giving away a small chink of radio spectrum - creating the UK’s largest mobile network, with 30 million customers, or 37 percent of the market. The combined operator, which may get a new name after 18 months, will instantly have significant clout in mobile telephony - but what’s it mean for the fast-growing mobile internet market.. ? (Read Full Article)

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The Mobile Report Wrap: Top Games; Top App Platform; And Top U.S. Search

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 25 2010) Smartphones

At least three reports were distributed today by companies that use internal data to make sweeping statements about the state of the industry. While the data can often be influenced by the company’s strengths, the reports can typically be useful for gleaning some relevant information on where the trends are heading. Here are those three reports: —Distimo: This report looks at games being sold on Windows, BlackBerry, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Android stores. It found that in January on average, the most expensive games are found on Windows and Blackberry ($4.91 and $4.60, respectively). Meanwhile, games published ... (Read Full Article)

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Placecast's Location-Based Service Alerts Shoppers To Nearby Deals

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 25 2010) SMS

Here’s a refreshing take on location-based services: It’s not an app and users don’t have to manually check-in when they’ve arrived at a destination. Today, Placecast is launching a new advertising-based service called ShopAlerts, which lets consumers sign-up for offers from some of their favorite stores or restaurants when they’re in geographic range of the location. The service goes live today starting with three retailers: SONIC, REI and American Eagle Outfitters. In a way, this brings to life the well-fabled use-case scenario in mobile, where you are walking by a Starbucks and you receive a coupon by text message for ... (Read Full Article)

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Nbcu's Mobile Olympics: Mobile Is Ready For Primetime

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 23 2010) MMS , Mobile Applications

What a difference a year-and-a-half can make. That was the view presented by NBC Universal? research head Alan Wurtzel regarding the contrast in the number of mobile users accessing the network’s Winter Olympics coverage. “We knew going into Vancouver that mobile would be ready for primetime,” he said during a conference call with reporters on the research the company’s gleaned half-way through the current games. “Not only is the growth huge, but it’s mainstreaming.” (Read Full Article)

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Apple's Ban On Racy Apps Due To Rising Complaints; But Major Pubs Get A Pass

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 23 2010) Mobile Applications

Apple’s ban on some sexually-suggestive content in the iTunes App Store was due to an increasing number of complaints from women’s and parent groups, a top exec tells the NYT. But the policy is selective, as not all apps featuring scantily-clad women have been bannished. For example, Sports Illustrated’s free Swimsuit app is still available for download—though Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) asks that users certify they are over 17 years of age before loading—as is a related game app. Playboy (NYSE: PLA) has several paid apps still on sale in the App Store. (Read Full Article)

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Pocketgear Acquires Smartphone Apps Site Handango

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 22 2010) Smartphones

PocketGear, the online mobile applications store, is buying one of the oldest players in the smartphone apps store sector, Handango, for an undisclosed amount. The two stores put together now have applications for Android, Symbian OS, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm (NSDQ: PALM), Linux, and Java powered mobile devices, and of course excludes the biggie, iPhone; the stores combined to date have generated over $400 million in apps revenues from customers, they say. Jud Bowman will remain as President and CEO of PocketGear and Alex Bloom, current CEO of Handango, will become COO of PocketGear. PocketGear is headquartered in Durham, NC ... (Read Full Article)

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UK Newspapers Want BBC Mobile Apps Blocked For 'Undermining' Them, BBC Disagrees

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 18 2010) Mobile Applications , EMEA

I wondered how long it would be before print media pointed at the BBC’s new smartphone apps plan as another example of expansion in to their commercial territory. The answer: just 24 hours... The Newspaper Publishers Association, in an emailed statement, says its members believe BBC apps “will undermine the commercial sector’s ability to establish an economic model in an emerging but potentially important market ... This, over the long term, will reduce members’ ability to invest in quality journalism.” The NPA already looks like a dog with a bone with this - it says it will ask the regulating ... (Read Full Article)

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The Buzz Among App Developers At This Year's MWC May Surprise You

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 18 2010)

For the first time this year at Mobile World Congress, an entire building was roped off for application developers with each day of the inaugural App Planet being hosted by another player—Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Research In Motion and Google’s Android. While the rest of the show—spanning seven other halls—focused on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 and the rapid proliferation of Android devices from too many handset-makers to count, I ducked into App Planet to get an unofficial litmus test for what the buzz is among developers. Keep in mind, when talking to developers, you mostly ... (Read Full Article)

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paidContent 2010: How Smartphones, E-Readers And, Yes, Tablets, Are Changing The Game

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 18 2010)

A premium ecosystem has been spawned by the advent of smartphones and e-readers. News outlets unwilling to charge for online news don’t flinch at fees for news by app. Book publishers are pushing aside the idea that digital means cheaper. New dedicated e-readers are closer than any before to fulfilling the promise of formats that work for magazines and newspapers. And the advent of the tablet – years after Bill Gates proclaimed it the future – offers everyone a chance to ride a new wave of creativity – and commerce. Where do we go from here? Find out at paidContent ... (Read Full Article)

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This Year's Message At MWC: It's Complicated!

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 14 2010)

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week will reveal in gory detail just how complicated the industry has become. If you don’t believe me, just consider this short list of ironies: Google’s Eric Schmidt will give one of the show’s first keynote despite releasing its first phone only 16 months ago; Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is not expected to announce a phone for the first time in a decade; Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) will try to grab the spotlight with a new version of its Windows phone, after losing its grasp on enterprise market; and Verizon Wireless is co-hosting a press conference ... (Read Full Article)

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Samsung Unveils Vision Of The Future: No More Dumb Phones

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 14 2010)

The day before Mobile World Congress officially kicks off, Samsung unveiled the Wave, the first phone running its new operating system called bada. The multimedia event was held off site in a large room, where the walls served as giant video screens. Crashing waves and and over-sized images of jellyfish made it feel like an aquarium. On stage, dancers kept rhythm to loud techno music and a trapeze artist hung from the ceiling. But more important than all of that was the message that Samsung was there to deliver. For months, the South Korean handset maker has provided an often ... (Read Full Article)

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Motorola To Break Into Two Publicly Held Companies By Early 2011

Explore Article mocoNews (Feb 11 2010) Smartphones

After years of debating what to do, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) has decided to break the company in two. The separation is targeted for the first quarter of next year. The entities will become two, independently, publicly traded companies. One will include the mobile devices and home businesses, and the other will include its enterprise mobility solutions and networks businesses. Motorola’s co-CEO and held of mobile devices Sanjay Jha, will serve as CEO of the mobile devices and home businesses, and Co-CEO Greg Brown will serve as CEO of the enterprise group. Release. (Read Full Article)

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