E-books Becoming Big Business
Research firm Yankee Group estimates that the U.S. e-book market will reach $2.7 billion in sales in 2013, up from just $313 million in 2009. That's good for a growth rate of 83 percent, above even paid mobile apps, at 72 percent. Already, Amazon claims that Kindle e-books now outsell paperback books on Amazon.com. This […]
eBay's Mobile Apps Ring in Historic Holiday Sales
Much of eBay’s attention and resources the past year have gone into its mobile commerce development, and on Wednesday the world’s largest online marketplace publicly released the fruits of those labors. In doing so, eBay also provided a helpful overview of the mobile shopping trends that took place throughout 2010. The company reports… [[ This […]
Geofencing Patent Awarded to Where Inc.
Where Inc., the location-based service and media company with a handful of mobile apps for smartphones, has been awarded a broad patent for geofencing technology. Patent number 7,848,765 has been more than five years in the making…
Mobile Apps for Merchants on the Move
While the holidays present an opportunity for many business owners to spend fewer hours on the job and more time with family, e-commerce professionals do not have that luxury. If the retail forecasts are accurate – and merchants certainly hope they are – this week will kick off the busiest shopping season since the start […]
Google Advertises on Facebook and Twitter [PICS]
Google, the digital advertising behemoth, is contributing back to the industry by buying ad spots on Facebook and Twitter. Yes, you heard that right. Search Engine Land posted a Twitter screenshot showing @GoogleMobile as a Promoted Account, suggesting users to follow. Promoted Account ads run by an algorithm, so not everyone would be able to […]
Ford’s SYNC AppLink Brings Android and BlackBerry Apps to Your Car
Today Ford is announcing SYNC AppLink, a downloadable software upgrade for Ford SYNC systems that will allow hands-free voice control of popular applications for the BlackBerry and Android smartphones. The first car to get SYNC AppLink support will be the 2011 Fiesta, which will be available later this summer. Back in January, Ford announced the […]
BREAKING: Twitter Acquires Tweetie
Twitter has just announced that it has acquired Atebits, the company behind the popular Tweetie iPhone app and Mac desktop application. Tweetie’s creator, Loren Brichter, will be joining the Twitter team as well. The app will be renamed “Twitter for iPhone” and be made free in the next few weeks. Twitter CEO Evan Williams explained […]
The Mashable Twitter List Directory Launches!
Twitter lists are a great way to find new groups of people to follow on Twitter, and share your favorite follows with friends. To help you find and follow interesting lists, we’ve created the Mashable Twitter List Directory. The idea is pretty simple: With help from our partners TLISTS, we’ve organized Twitter lists into 10 […]
Opera Mini Submitted to Apple’s App Store. Your Move, Apple
Opera is playing a somewhat odd game with Apple. Their Opera Mini and Opera Mobile browsers are great mobile browsers, but the iPhone already has a great mobile browser — Safari. This fact alone wouldn’t be that big of a problem if Apple’s rules weren’t prohibiting other apps to duplicate the functionality of their own […]
iPhone Font is Not Very Readable, Still Amazing
First, we’ll tell you that it took the author – self-described as someone with too much free time – 540 iPhone apps to create this font. Second, we’ll tell you that it’s not all just pretty pictures: he actually used iPhone apps in different colors so he can show off the font live, directly off […]
Letterman Tries to Make Fun of Twitter on Top Ten List [VIDEO]
First Letterman called Twitter a waste of time, and then he tried his hand at operating the microblogging site with his very own twitter machine. Last night, Letterman regaled audiences with a list he called, “Top Ten Signs You Spend Too Much Time on Twitter.” As folks who actually do spend waaaaay too much time […]