Location-based mobile software provider Booyah launched InCrowd. This social game brings together GPS functionality and Facebook social networking profiles and enables new kinds of augmented reality by mobile interaction of friends in real-world locales. Weiter hier....

As commented by Samsung, its new platform for the U.S. TV and Blu-ray market could eventually align with its smartphone push. "Our goal is to make it easier and easier to allow folks to develop across different platforms," said Olivier Manuel, director of content for Samsung North America. Samsung is offering $500,000 in prizes to developers who build applications for its own TVs and Blu-ray players. Companies like Netflix and Pandora are already supporting Samsung Apps. Weiter hier....

New digital media subscription services cold be introduced in the near future by Sony and Amazon.com. The Financial Times reported that Sony plans to launch a premium music and video download service optimized for its many devices like the PlayStation gaming units or Sony Ericsson mobile handsets in the next year. Similar plans are reported from Amazon.com, which might expand its portfolio with introducing an own television and movie subscription platform optimised for browsers and connected devices. Weiter hier....

The worldwide smartphone applications market grew more than $2.2 billion dollars within the first six months of 2010, according to research2guidance. Mobile application download numbers reached a total of 3.8 billion in only 6 months, compared to 3.1 billion in 2009 according to the latest report by research2guidance. Weiter hier....

Online casual games and mobile games are becoming increasingly popular. At the GAMES CONVENTION ONLINE the research institute gamematrix and games publisher Greentube presented the first results of their study, which compares demographic data provided by several market research institutes and analyses the user behaviour of online and mobile casual gamers. Male consumers, for instance, are forerunners in using paid mobile and online contents. Online gaming is still more popular with 55-year-olds, but mobile games are catching up continuously. Obviously online casual gamers are the social networkers of today.
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Alcatel-Lucent has acquired ProgrammableWeb, a resource for application programming interfaces enabling developers to build web, mobile and related connected apps targeting both consumers and enterprise users. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Weiter hier....

Apple is deleting widget applications from its App Store, fueling speculation it will incorporate homescreen widgets into its forthcoming iPhone OS 4.0 upgrade. The official statement from Apple is: "We are not allowing apps that create their own desktops". Weiter hier....

Fifty-three percent of mobile developers are now creating applications for Apple's iPhone platform, with about half of those developers not currently building iPhone apps planning to do so in the next 12 months, according to a new survey conducted by market strategy consultancy iGR. Weiter hier....

As the mobile applications marketplace continues to grow, make sure you get the most from your mobile apps and maximize your revenue. Get started today by downloading our new mobile apps white paper. Weiter hier....

Amazon.com announced the incoming release of Kindle for Android. The free ereader application offers consumers access to premium titles including New York Times bestsellers, classics and new releases. The release is scheduled to summer 2010. Weiter hier....

Half year after topping the 50 million worldwide user milestone, Shazam now announced that its subscriber base now reaches 75 million with more than 1 billion songs identified. The mobile music discovery solutions provides an application which identifies music from any source, regardless of ambient noise, which takes only few seconds of recording. The company is represented across 200 countries and expects to break the 100 million user record by the end of 2010. Weiter hier....

As reported by the Fiercemarket Network, Borders announced it will launch its Kobo eReader next month as the bookseller looks to keep pace with Amazon.com's Kindle and Barnes & Noble's nook. Weiter hier....

On May 5th 2010, Microsoft and Nokia launched the first application from their alliance around mobile productivity, Microsoft Communicator Mobile for Nokia devices. This new unified communications client connects directly with a company's communications systems to streamline mobile collaboration. Owners of a number of Symbian based Nokia Eseries smartphones can download the English version today from Nokia's Ovi Store, the easiest place to get content on their Nokia device. Weiter hier....

Yahoo announced it will extend its global partnership with Samsung, launching a host of mobile services across devices running the handset maker's own bada operating system as well as Google's Android. Per terms of the agreement, which officially kicks off next month, Samsung will preload branded Yahoo solutions including Yahoo Mail, Yahoo Messenger, Yahoo Front Page, Yahoo Search, Flickr and Yahoo News. Weiter hier....

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released on April 15th the results of a study on mobile gaming highlighting the potential for growth in the mobile gaming market despite a 13% decline in the number of U.S. mobile gamers during the past year. Weiter hier....