GPS capability gives Foursquare social-networking service an edge |
This free service (http://foursquare.com) turns going out into a collaborative sport: People use its mobile software to check in to bars, restaurants, shops and other venues, to share tips about those places and to see whether other friends on Foursquare are nearby. For their trouble, they get virtual points and badges, plus the more practical lure of discounts from their favorite spots.
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It’s both profoundly silly and oddly compelling. And the New York startup, almost a year old, has been drawing users — about 500,000, whom founder Dennis Crowley says check in 1.5 million times a week — as well as partners and competitors.
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| Foursquare couldn’t exist without Global Positioning System-enabled smartphones that can locate themselves (although you can also use the service’s mobile Web site or text-messaging system). That place-awareness sets it apart from social networks that assume most users log in from regular computersRead more at www.washingtonpost.com |
Your Cell Phone Company’s Dirty Little Secret |
Mobile phone companies have been lauded for slashing the cost of unlimited voice plans, but many wireless customers’ monthly bills are actually going to get a bit more expensive. |
But as the wireless giants go around touting their lower voice prices, data plan costs have been quietly moving higher for some non-smartphone customers. |
“There’s a big shift going on among mobile companies, in which there is a price reduction on voice and an increased emphasis on selling and requiring data services,” said Dan Hays, partner at PRTM. “It is like a dirty little secret.” |
It’s not just about increasing revenue, say analysts. Carriers are banking on the consumer-friendly aspect: phones are more fun and useful with the Internet. Read more at customsites.yahoo.com |
What Apple’s iPad Means for Your Wallet
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LONDON—Phew! Thank heavens the iPad is coming. Solving the economic crisis should be a breeze—it has an app for that. |
Apple’s new all-singing, all-dancing hand-held computer is the talk of the moment. Even thousands of miles away in London, when I staggered off the redeye Thursday morning, the front pages showed a gaunt but grinning Steve Jobs clasping his latest creation. |
But if we can hack our way through the hype, what are the financial implications of this latest techno marvel—for consumers and for investors? |
AT&T, Boosted And Stressed By iPhone, Lays Out Network Plans
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AT&T Inc. detailed its plans for beefing up its often-maligned network Thursday, just one day after being tapped to carry another closely watched Apple Inc. device that will likely add even more traffic to its airwaves. |
| The carrier’s attention to network issues reflects its deep reliance on the iPhone for growth. |
Apple gave AT&T an important vote of confidence Wednesday by making it the carrier for the new iPad, but the consumer electronics company made clear earlier in the week that it is carefully monitoring AT&T’s plans for improving its network. |
In 2009, AT&T put up about 1,900 new cell sites, opened new spectrum frequencies and upgraded their equipment to a faster wireless technology, he added. This year, the carrier plans to spend $18 billion to $19 billion on its networks, including spending twice as much on the wireless network as it did last year. Read more at online.wsj.com |
and that increased government regulation in the wireless industry will only impede further advancements and consumer pricing. Verizon Wireless Lowers Plan Prices
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NEW YORK—Verizon Wireless introduced new wireless-pricing plans Friday that charge less for making calls but would require more customers to buy data plans, in a move aimed at taking business from AT&T Inc. and boosting revenue from data services. |
The carrier, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, lowered the rates for its unlimited voice plan to $70 a month from $100. It also cut its baseline voice plan, which comes with 450 minutes, to $40. Unlimited text messaging costs $20 more for each. |
“We expect AT&T to follow quickly,” Macquarie analyst Phil Cusick said, noting that in February 2008, when Verizon moved the plans to $99, AT&T followed suit a few hours later. Read more at online.wsj.com |
Google Announces Android Event |
SAN FRANCISCO - Google will host a press event next Tuesday pegged to its Android mobile phone operating system, sparking speculation the Internet search giant will unveil its own cell phone to compete with Apple’s popular iPhone. |
In an email to reporters, Google said its Android system, which appeared in phones about a year ago, had spurred innovation in the mobile device market, adding “this is just the beginning of what’s possible.” |
The timing of the event, which comes just days before the start of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, takes a page from Apple’s playbook. In 2007, Apple stole the trade show’s thunder by announcing the iPhone. Read more at blogs.wsj.com |
Google Set To Market Own Phone Next Year
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Google Inc. plans to begin selling a cellphone directly to consumers as soon as next year, people familiar with the matter said, escalating the Internet giant’s assault on the traditional business model of the wireless industry. |
The phone, called Nexus One, was designed inside Google and will be sold, at least initially, without being subsidized by a wireless partner, these people said. It is the latest sign of the Internet giant’s ever-broadening wireless ambitions as Google hunts for ways to expand its Internet services beyond computers. The move, details of which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal on its Web site Saturday, also marks a new front in its growing rivalry with Apple Inc. Read more at online.wsj.com |
Follow the WSJ’s real-time blog.
- Live Blogging Now
- December 7, 2009, 12:51 PM ET
Live-Blogging Google’s Search Presentation
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Google plans to show new search features at a Monday press conference. |
Presenting are Marissa Mayer, vice president of search products and user experience, as well as Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering, and Google Fellow Amit Singhal — as TechCrunch notes, “all heavy hitters.” |
Squeezing Web Sites Onto Cellphones
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Businesses Try to Shift Online Communities, Consumer Forums to Places Tailored for Wireless Users |
The move to mobile isn’t without challenges. Companies have to decide whether to create a barebones site accessible by even the most basic handset, or opt for a flashier application accessible by select smart phones. Different phones, screen sizes and platforms create headaches for site designers. |
There are some who believe that the idea of a site designed for phones is becoming less relevant as mobile browsers improve. Most smart phones, for instance, are able to load up sites built for the computer. |
Companies, however, have to avoid overloading customers with information. “You have to be very careful of what you’re pushing and how you’re pushing it,” Mr. Chimsky said. “It’s that relevancy angle that’s so hard.” Read more at online.wsj.com |
BlackBerry Offers Low-Hanging Fruit
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Is smart-phone pioneer BlackBerry in danger of becoming the AOL of the mobile-device market? |
Verizon Wireless’s launch on Friday of the Droid phone, a Motorola-built handset using Google’s Android operating system, signals the opening of a new front in the smart-phone war. Early buzz on the Droid suggests it may be the strongest competitor to Apple’s iPhone so far. But it is BlackBerry maker Research In Motion, more than Apple, that is particularly vulnerable. |
BlackBerry has failed to build on the popularity of its email service with a robust Internet browser. That wasn’t a major issue while the iPhone, available only on AT&T, was the only other game in town. But now the array of competitive smart phones includes the Palm Pre on Sprint Nextel as well as the Droid. Read more at online.wsj.com |
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Foursquare: Are you game?
