Monthly Archives: August 2010

Android predicted to surpass RIM this year

August 17, 2010 3:47 pm by Robin Kwong

Google’s momentum in smartphones is not likely to stop at just overtaking Apple’s iPhone in terms of global sales, according to analysts from Taipei-based Digitimes Research, who are predicting that Android sales will jump to number two above Research In Motion’s BlackBerry before the end of the year.

Gartner, the research group, last week said Android’s global share in smartphones had jumped from 1.8 per cent a year ago to 17.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2010. This put it ahead of Apple’s iOS operating system, which had a 14.2 per cent share, but still behind RIM’s 18.2 per cent global market share. Read more

Tags: android, apple, BlackBerry, google, ios, iphone, RIM
Posted in Mobile | Permalink

Facebook: new features coming Wednesday

August 17, 2010 2:34 am by David Gelles

Facebook has just invited us to an event on Wednesday afternoon at which the company “will provide an update on the service’s features and products.”

Sounds like a product launch, and Facebook is likely to unveil some features that will help it defend its turf from Google’s imminent social networking push.

At the top of the list of features Facebook watchers are anticipating: Places. Read more

Tags: Facebook, foursquare, google, gowalla, places, yelp
Posted in Mobile, Social | Permalink

Logitech Alert – camera catches security breaches

August 15, 2010 9:16 pm by Paul Taylor

While the public has become alarmed at the levels of surveillance from technology such as Google’s Street View and security cameras, individuals can take comfort from the latest remote webcams designed for personal protection.

In the Personal Technology column in the FT’s Business Life section, we look at the new Logitech Alert range of indoor and outdoor video security cameras aimed at safeguarding homes and monitoring the well-being of occupants, such as babies and aged relatives. Read more

Tags: Logitech
Posted in Personal technology | Permalink

Why Playfish is rooting for Google Me

August 15, 2010 8:01 pm by Tim Bradshaw

As Google gears up its social push, attracting the right games to its platform will be critical. So the search giant will welcome the endorsement of Playfish, and with it, parent company Electronic Arts, for its plans in Google Me.

I met Sebastien de Halleux, co-founder of Playfish and now also VP for strategic partnerships at EA Interactive, in London on Friday. Nine months after its $300m-plus acquisition by EA, Playfish is growing faster than it can hire, and Mr de Halleux remains effervescent about the potential for taking console franchises such as Fifa Soccer onto the web.

But he wasn’t so thrilled about Facebook’s current attitude towards games developers, and welcomed the prospect of a stiffer competitor in the form of Google. Read more

Tags: Facebook, google, google me, social gaming
Posted in Digital media, Games, Internet, Social | Permalink

Apple’s embarrassment of riches

August 13, 2010 12:41 am by Richard Waters

Apple’s $46bn cash mountain is a source of frustration that is now “bordering on exasperation” for the company’s shareholders. So says Toni Sacconaghi of Sanford C Bernstein, one of Wall Street’s most respected hardware analysts, in an open letter to the company.

But don’t expect Apple to bow quickly to calls to start paying a dividend or otherwise distribute the money. Steve Jobs said earlier this year that having the cash on hand gives Apple huge strategic flexibility. And Wall Street seldom seems bothered by how tech companies deploy their excess cash – as Microsoft has found since it got religion about disciplined cash management some years ago.

Full letter after the break. Read more

Tags: apple
Posted in Tech, Tech Finance | Permalink

TweetMeme dodges Twitter’s button bullet

August 12, 2010 8:28 pm by Tim Bradshaw

When news broke earlier this week that Twitter was going to launch its own “tweet button”, many were quick to predict the death of TweetMeme, which already provides similar badges to many websites.

But while the British start-up has ceded its own retweet button (750m served every day, until now), it has if anything emerged stronger, with a rare deal, to reach into the heart of the realtime Twitter “firehose” – and build a new set of services on top of the micro-communications service.

If TweetMeme’s positive spin on losing its most visible piece of marketing is right, and it’s got low-cost, preferential access to Twitter’s data, it sets a benchmark that TweetDeck, Twitpic, Bit.ly, TweetUp and many other third-party developers might hope to emulate, as Twitter sucks up features and applications previously provided by its ecosystem. Read more

Tags: Tweetmeme, twitter
Posted in Tech | Permalink

Google: “We haven’t sold out”

August 12, 2010 8:12 pm by Richard Waters

Compromise does not sit well with idealistic principles. So really, Google has little cause to feel mistreated over the very negative reaction to its net neutrality pact with Verizon (from public interest groups, and from competitors) and its latest blog post today sounds highly defensive.

It’s just naive to assume that an agreement like this between two giant companies will not be seen as an attempt to carve up a market. After all, companies are meant to negotiate in their own self-interest. So if the two leaders in their respective markets can reach a mutually agreed compromise, it stands to reason that the position they arrive at will advocate regulation where it is least likely to affect them directly – and greater freedoms where they most want them. Read more

Posted in Tech | Permalink

Zagat getting into the daily deals business

August 12, 2010 7:23 pm by David Gelles

In Silicon Valley, success breeds imitation. Witness the glut of doomed e-commerce sites during the Dot Com bubble or, more recently, the plethora of mafia-themed social games on Facebook.

The latest hot trend is group buying. By offering daily deals for restaurants and local businesses, a handful of companies have become profitable middlemen between deal-hungry consumers and businesses looking for new patrons.

Groupon has the early lead, with operations in 80 markets and $135m in fresh funding. It also has plenty of clones — from LivingSocial Deals to Woot to BuyWithMe. Now add another one to the list — Zagat. Read more

Tags: groupon, livingsocial, zagat
Posted in Tech | Permalink