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1 Smartphone Could Replace a Pile of Plastic August 03, 2010 Several mobile carriers, including AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile, are working on a project that would allow consumers to use their smartphones to make purchases, thus displacing debt and credit cards. The project, reported by the Bloomberg news service, appears ready to roll out with a test scheduled for Atlanta and three other U.S. cities.

How Mobile Commerce Can Capture In-Store Sales July 23, 2010 Three years after Apple launched the iPhone, mobile commerce has reached a tipping point, driving retailers to change the way they think about their businesses. Mobile commerce has evolved from its origins as a marketplace for "virtual" goods like ringtones and applications to one enabling the sale of "real" products, particularly low-cost items that offer immediate gratification.

Sneaking Up on E-Commerce Search Powerhouses: TheFind July 08, 2010 In May, TheFind reached a notable milestone: It overtook Yahoo Shopping to become the No. 2 search engine for retail queries, according to comScore. Google holds the No. 1 slot. A relative newcomer, TheFind has posted remarkable growth in a short period of time. In April, for example, it grew 175 percent year over year, noted founder and CEO Siva Kumar.

Mobile Tech: From Channel to Rainmaker July 02, 2010 Until recently, a phone was just a phone. Sure, it got cooler when it lost the rotary dial, the cord, the wire and its voice-only restrictions. Still, it was just a phone. Businesses knew that the sound of its ring usually meant money (for what company with silent phones is profitable?) -- but few were prepared for the darn thing to totally rule their bottom line.

Google Hot Under the Collar Over Apple's Revised iOS Dev Terms June 10, 2010 In response to a recent revision to Apple's developer agreement for its iOS mobile operating system, a Google executive on Wednesday lashed out at the company, arguing that the new terms are "not in the best interests of users or developers." The change drawing Google's ire apparently prohibits some third-party ad networks from collecting ad performance data on the iPhone and iPad.

Google Wraps AdMob Deal - Mobile Apps Onslaught Ahead? May 28, 2010 Google has completed its acquisition of mobile advertiser AdMob, after what was apparently a very close decision by the Federal Trade Commission, which had been vetting the buy for antitrust purposes. With the legalities finally over, the speculation shifts from "will it happen?" to "what happens next?"

Can Location-Based Services Chart a Revenue Stream? May 24, 2010 The location-based service company Glympse has its headquarters in Redmond, Wash. You certainly don't need the company's iPhone app -- which lets people track their friends' locations on smartphones in real-time on maps or satellite imagery -- to know that. But it may seem lately as if Glympse has been all over the media map.

Go800: You Text Us, We'll Call You May 07, 2010 As business offerings go, Go800's plan is simple: It gives mobile consumers a quick keyword connection to a call-back from vendors. The vendor's ad lists an easy-to-remember keyword, a ready-to-buy viewer texts that keyword to Go800, and a moment later the viewer's phone rings with a call from the vendor.

Will the Feds Sour Apple's Juice? May 05, 2010 The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are reportedly discussing an antitrust probe of Apple. This was spurred by a complaint from Adobe, whose Flash technology has been barred from certain Apple products, according to a Bloomberg report. Whether or not the government will launch a probe is not yet certain.

iAd for the Win as iPhone 4's Biggest Blockbuster April 13, 2010 While Apple announced more than 100 new user features for its iPhone OS 4 that will run on iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads this summer -- in addition to adding 1,500-plus new Application Programming Interfaces for developers to make it easier to build cool apps -- one new feature towers over all the others: iAd.

Feds May Challenge Google's AdMob Acquisition April 07, 2010 Egged on by the chairman of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, the Federal Trade Commission may be considering an effort to block Google's $750 million purchase of mobile advertising firm AdMob. The FTC reportedly is assembling a team of attorneys to handle a possible antitrust action against the acquisition.

The Fly in the Smartphone Ointment March 26, 2010 For a second, I thought the Radio Shack ad in my Gmail inbox was trying to sell me a new netbook or a previously unreported competitor to Apple's forthcoming iPad. Then I took the time to read all the ad copy: "Watch. Read. Surf. Play on the Biggest Touchscreen Smartphone Around."

Google's New Mobile App Lets Shoppers Peer Into Retailers' Stockrooms March 12, 2010 Google has introduced a mobile version of its Product Search tool that lets users check on a product's availability in local participating stores. Product Search for mobile with local inventory lets a user see if, say, a Nikon Coolpix camera is in stock at a nearby Best Buy or Sears -- two of the retailers participating in the program -- and then provides basic directions to get there.

Marketing to the Ubiquitous Cellphone February 23, 2010 There are currently more than 270 million cellphone users in the U.S., and 82 percent of them never leave home without their devices, according to a recent study. With that many people walking around with mobile phones, it is time to get smart about mobile marketing efforts and engage customers via their favorite outlet.

Search Marketing 2010: Everyone Will Have to Work Harder February 22, 2010 Search marketing will undergo many changes in 2010, according to marketing agency Greenlight. Among other things, Facebook will have to offer better ad tracking, mobile search will take off, and Google will rethink incorporating Twitter search data into its real-time search results as well as include video content in page relevancy scores.

Google's Enterprise and Mobile Plans: Killer Buzz or Buzzkill? February 10, 2010 While the technosphere was busy Tuesday pitting Google's new Buzz service against Facebook and Twitter in some kind of social media steel-cage deathmatch, the search giant's executives were hinting at what they see as the real winning uses for Buzz -- within the enterprise and out and about in the mobile arena.

Some of the Best CES Stories That Didn't Make the Headlines January 18, 2010 Last week, I spoke about how CES was back, and I gave some of the highlights. However, there always are discussions and trends going on behind the scenes, almost-invisible products, and impressions that take a while to form that can be even more interesting. There were a couple of little companies, for example, that looked like they may be on the verge of becoming really big.

Sidestepping Swindlers in the New M-Commerce Frontier January 13, 2010 As the number, power and flexibility of mobile devices has increased, so has their use for shopping. In 2008, a Nielsen survey found that 9 million people in the United States "have used their mobile phone to pay for goods or services," and many more expect to do so soon.

Nexus One: You Can Look, You Can Buy, but You Can't Touch January 08, 2010 The 2009 holiday spirit seems to have faded for Google and Apple, who didn't waste much time getting back to the business of giving each other the stinkeye. First up was Google, which gave its Nexus One smartphone its first official public appearance. It's a phone manufactured by HTC, and it runs on Android 2.1, which is .1 better than the version on the Verizon Droid.

Apple to Introduce Mobile Advertising Into Its Ecosystem January 05, 2010 Apple is acquiring mobile ad company Quattro Wireless for an undisclosed amount, Andy Miller, Quattro's vice president, mobile advertising, said in a statement on the company's Web site. Apple, of course, has a rich array of products, including the iPhone and iPod touch lines. What it doesn't have is a distinct platform for advertisers to reach its massive user base.