Baidu has launched a searchable applications library which allows third-party apps to be launched directly within its website. I’m not sure how this exactly works, but from what I’ve understood, an app will be shown to the customer when he or she searches for a specific product or application category. Obviously, the next step is…
Etisalat interested in India’s Idea Cellular?
File this under rumors, but the fact remains – India’s mobile market is destined for some serious consolidation. Two days ago we said that Uninor and Videocon have hard time competing in the country, and today we bring you the story involving UAE-based Etisalat and their apparent plans to grab a stake in Idea Cellular.…
Cell C launches first HSPA+ 900 MHz network in Africa
South Africa’s Cell C launched its HSPA+ 900 MHz network in Port Elizabeth as part of its country-wide network rollout. For the moment, the city will be the only area in Africa with such network, offering peak rate download speeds of up to 21.6 Mbps. Last month, the mobile operator unveiled plans to launch the…
PayPal Expects to Close 2010 with $500 Million in Mobile Payments
With e-commerce growing and huge shifts toward mobile trends, PayPal is making sure it stays right on top of its game. The e-commerce company has been partnering up with companies like Google for mobile payments, and it is expecting to see some huge business before the year’s end. More specifically, PayPal expects to see approximately…
Brazil: A guy uses bow and arrow to send phones into jail
Talk about craving for mobility… Brazilian police has detained a 17-year-old teen after he shot arrows with mobile phones attached over the walls of a prison in southern Brazil to inmates waiting on the other side. According to authorities, the boy was caught after one of the arrows he launched struck a police officer on…
India: Uninor, Videocon struggle for cash
Although India is one of the biggest mobile markets in the world, not everyone is making money at the moment. According to Bloomberg’s report, Telenor has racked up 3.4 billion NOK ($556 million) in operating losses, prompting analysts to doubt the company’s goal to become profitable in three years. Telenor owns 67.25% of Uninor, offering…
Kidnapped journalist uses cell phone, Twitter to escape prison
I guess you can no longer say that Twitter is worthless, as the micro-blogging service was ingeniously used by a kidnapped Japanese journalist to signal for help. The best part of the story is that the kidnapped person tricked his captors into using Twitter in order to send out cries for help. According to an…
AOL and Google Announce 5 Year Partnership Renewal, Look to Expand
AOL and Google are at it again as the two Internet giants have announced the renewal of their partnership for another five years. The deal entails Google’s search services being integrated with AOL content networks and properties. Of course, there will be shared revenue between the two and the expansion part comes into the mobile…
Prepaid operator Common Cents Mobile now available in almost 1,250 Walmart stores
Sprint-owned Common Cents Mobile, which is known for its pay-by-the-minute prepaid offering, announced expansion into an additional 500 Walmart stores — including new markets such as Chicago/Central Illinois, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C. With this addition, the their offering is available in almost 1,250 Walmart stores around the U.S. Those unfamiliar, myself included, should…
Windows Phone 7 finalized and released to manufacturers
Windows Phone 7 is upon us as it has reached the point where it hit the Release to Manufacturers milestone (RTM). This doesn’t come as a shock since it very recently hit the technical preview milestone, but we now that WP7 is coming sooner much rather than later. After all, we’ve already seen a great…