Mobile Computing
AT&T, Other ISIS Partners Eye Mobile Payments Overseas
Posted on December 14, 2011 |
By Olga Kharif
A joint venture of AT&T Mobility, T-Mobile USA and Verizon Wireless wants to bring its mobile-payment technology to markets outside the U.S., as companies try to grab a piece of the fast-growing digital wallet business.
The venture, ISIS, has held discussions to explore international opportunities, said Jaymee Johnson, a spokesman. He declined to name prospective partners, who could choose to use ISIS's brand or its technology.
ISIS is competing with Google Inc. and other consortiums and startups in the mobile payments arena. Their goal: To allow consumers to use their phones to make credit- or debit-card purchases in stores. The worldwide market is expected to reach $670 billion in total transactions by 2015, up from $240 billion this year, according to Juniper Research.
``The underlying equity partners in ISIS give us some degree of visibility and awareness beyond the U.S.,'' Johnson said in an interview. One of Verizon Wireless's two parent companies is Vodafone Group Plc, based in the U.K., while T-Mobile USA is owned by Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG.
ISIS is playing catch-up with Google in the U.S. The company's Google Wallet service launched in September, while ISIS's effort will start in two cities in mid-2012. Google's service has recently run into problems: Verizon Wireless blocked it from the new Galaxy Nexus smartphone, citing security concerns.
Industry support for ISIS is growing. This week, the venture announced that Gemalto NV will be one of its technology providers in the U.S. The company is the world's biggest maker of smart cards, which contain embedded memory chips used to carry out various functions such as access control and payment transactions.
ISIS has also announced agreements with payment networks including Visa Inc. and handset makers including Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
Shazam Wants You to Hold the Phone Up to the TV
Posted on December 7, 2011 |
By Adam Satariano
Shazam Entertainment Inc., maker of that nifty tool that lets people identify songs they can't recognize, wants TV viewers to start using the service, too.
The startup is teaming with companies including General Mills, News Corp. and Gap's Old Navy to give Shazam's 165 million users a way to get discounts or more information on products in TV commercials. To make it work, the user holds up an iPhone, iPad or Google Android device when Shazam's blue logo comes on screen during a commercial -- and then activates the sound-recognition app to get a promotion or additional content.
An advertisement for "Alvin and the Chipmunks," for instance, gives Shazam users added information about the crooning rodents. A campaign with General Mills Pillsbury Crescents delivers recipes.
"We've got such critical mass with people using Shazam for music that it opens the doors to expanding, as we have, into television," David Jones, Shazam's executive vice president of marketing, told me in an interview.
U.K.-based Shazam, named after the comic book wizard who gave Captain Marvel his powers, is going after the growing proportion of people who watch TV while also futzing with a tablet or smartphone. EBay is building software that makes it easier for consumers to buy things they see on TV, a technology my colleague Danielle Kucera wrote last month. Viacom's MTV Networks is adding features that help fans of "Jersey Shore" or other shows use handhelds to find additional content.
After landing $32 million in venture capital funding in June, the company is adding 80 new sales and engineering staff to spearhead the effort, which it expects to eventually be more lucrative than its music features, Jones said. Shazam is getting help in the TV effort from former Yahoo! vice president Jason Titus, hired last year as chief technology officer, Jones said.
Shazam, whose backers include venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, generates revenue mainly from its app sales, referrals to iTunes and Amazon.com Inc.'s music store and advertising within its mobile applications. With television, the company partners with a brand for campaigns that are each worth "hundreds of thousands of dollars," Jones said, without being more specific.
"Brand advertising for the first time can be easily turned in to direct response advertising, which means people can engage in a matter of seconds with one button in getting more information about that product or brand or shopping from their couch," he said.
Get a Free Apple iPad – How to Get iPad For Free in Just 3 Simple Steps
Posted on November 7, 2010 |
The best and easiest way you can test and keep the Apple iPad for Free? We are hearing about the new iPad Tablet that was recently released by the Apple Group. But most of us don't have enough money in our budget to try out the latest gadgets Apple is offering.The Best Business Notebook With Security and Performance – Toshiba Tecra M10
Posted on November 7, 2010 |
The Toshiba Tecra M10 being a great portable machine provides its users with good performance and connectivity. This notebook functions well as desktop computer and a mobile device as well. It also provides an excellent and incomparable security and performance and this are very specially designed to take care of all the requirements like business and communication wants of professionals.Dell Inspiron Mini 10 Review
Posted on November 7, 2010 |
Netbooks really are a whole whole lot much less pricey than full-size notebooks, the battery lasts a whole whole lot longer, and should you invest the majority of your time within a internet browser anyway
