Mobile Computing News

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Twitter, the social media giant that’s seen incredibly fast growth over the last few years, has made its second major acquisition of a third-party Twitter client. The company has reportedly bought Tweetdeck for $40 million (£24.4m), according to CNN.

Almost officially official

Speculation was rife that Twitter would acquire Tweetdeck after TechCrunch uncovered reports that the acquisition price was in the $40-50 million price range. The acquisition has since been confirmed by sources, though Betworks, a key Tweetdeck investor, was not available for comment, nor was Twitter. The company’s PR account, however, tweeted: ‘For all those who might be curious, we continue to not comment on rumours.’

The deal reportedly consists of a mixture of stock and cash.

And then there were two

Tweetdeck is the second acquisition of a Twitter client the microblogging site has made. In April last year, the social media giant acquired Tweetie, a popular iPhone app at the time, and rebranded it as Twitter for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Mac.

Where Tweetie has long thrived on mobile devices, especially iOS devices, Tweetdeck has made its mark on the desktop. How the company will support both platforms and maintain product strategy across the two clients – or integrate the two platforms – remains to be seen.

Why this is smart

When rumours first emerged that this acquisition was in the works, many weighed in on whether it actually made sense. Of all the arguments I’ve seen on and offline for it, GigaOm gave the best reason, saying the kind of users Twitter was acquiring was as important as the platform itself.

They wrote: ‘An acquisition would have other benefits as well, however, the most obvious being control over one of the leading “power tools” for its service. Although most casual users tend to prefer either the Twitter website or a mobile app, Tweetdeck is used by a lot of journalists, marketing professionals and others as a dashboard for their social media use.’

Photo: jdlasica / Flickr

David Einhorn, a famous hedge fund manager, has called for Steve Ballmer’s job. He says that the Microsoft CEO is the primary overhang on the company’s stock, and his departure would do the venerable technology company the world of good.

No words minced

Not mincing his words, Einhorn spoke freely at the annual Ira Sohn Investment Research Conference held in New York on Wednesday. While criticism of Ballmer in private has been widespread, Einhorn is the most high profile of the lot who has called for him to be ousted publically.

He said: ‘It’s time for Microsoft’s board to tell Steve Ballmer, “All right, we see what you can do, let’s give so-and-so a chance.”’ He added that: ‘His continued presence is the biggest overhang on Microsoft’s stock.’

From colossal to stagnant

Using market capitalization as a measure, Microsoft was the biggest US company in the world in the 1990s. Unfortunately it has seen its stock price stand still for the last decade on the heels of struggling to monetize the opportunities presented by the internet, as well as get a foothold with contemporary mobile devices like smartphones and tablet PCs.

All the while competitor Apple has surpassed Microsoft’s stock price, as has IBM.

This is not to say that Microsoft is not inherently a valuable company, something Einhorn is quick to concede, saying: ‘Microsoft trades at a remarkable discount’ and that ‘Microsoft is not getting credit for its achievements and prospects.’

Ballmer’s problem

However, where David Einhorn giveth, he also taketh. ‘Ballmer’s problem is that he’s stuck in the past. He’s allowed competitors to beat Microsoft in huge areas, including search, mobile-communications software, tablet computing and social networking. Even worse, his response to these failures has been to pour tremendous resources into efforts to develop his way out of these holes,’ complains the influential investor.

It’s hard to not feel for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. Under his watch, earnings and profits have continued to rise, and in the Xbox division, the company has developed a few breakout stars. Clearly this is not enough. And unless Windows Phone 7 or some of Microsoft’s newer products start delivering, one fears that Einhorn is only the first of many voices who will call for the departure of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Photo: gnews pics / Flickr

Last Saturday was supposed to be Judgment Day and many were under the impression that they would not be alive today. This left many spending 20 May 2011 has if it were their last day on earth. A few chose to spend their day confessing all their sins, secrets and inner thoughts in the hope that a clean conscience would buy them a one-way ticket to the Pearly Gates. Many chose to do so via Twitter for all to see. You can only imagine how many are of them are eating their words this week.

Judgment Day

A retired engineer, 89-year-old Harold Camping, was behind the prediction that the world would end on 21 May 2011. He decided to do one last project before totally calling it quits, and used phrases and figures in the Bible together with his knowledge of mathematics to work out the date the world would end. Who would have thought that his theory would gain such a huge following?

I confess…

We took some time out to check what everyone had been confessing to and the results were astounding. There were many who declared their love for someone other than their partners. A few admitted to affairs and one even made public his desire to drink a girl’s bathwater. Others had always wanted to be prostitutes, while some shot the sheriff and there were a minority who admitted to letting the dogs out.

Here are a few tweets that really took the cake:

‘I lied to my wife. I told her our insurance would NOT cover a breast reduction.’

‘I occasionally listen to video game music. okay. I love video game music.’

‘Every day I throw peppers in my own eyes just to prepare them for the day I get sprayed.’

‘I’m a cyborg from the future sent back in time to prevent the end of the world. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED’

‘Luke, I am your mother.’

Of course many people tweeted after they realized the world would not end anytime soon and admitted to the damage they had caused. One memorable message said, ‘Just great. I cussed out the CEO on Friday…’ We urge our readers to watch what they say on social networking sites. Your words may come back to bite you.

Photo: DerekL / Flickr

While Foxconn was quick to point out that the recent blast at one of its production plants would have minimal affect on the production of Apple iPad 2 tablet PC devices, research firm IHS iSuppli reports otherwise, saying the production loss could well be significant.

According to the research firm, Apple’s production loss of iPad 2 tablets could total 500,000 units as a result of the blast in Chengdu, China. The total manufacturing drop is dependent on how long the plant is closed for, following the unfortunate explosion on 20 May 2011, which saw three people die and a further 15 injured. IHS iSuppli said that the total could be greater still if the plant were to be shut down for longer than a month.

Missing forecasts

This production loss will have a double negative effect on Apple. The first is it could result in iPad 2 shortages, which have only recently begun easing up, returning. And, secondly, it may result in Apple missing iSuppli’s internal forecast of the company shipping 7.4 million iPad 2 tablets in the current quarter, ending in June.

It could be worse, still

Bloomberg reports that Mike Abramsky, a tech analyst with RBC Capital Markets, had speculated that the impact on Apple could be far greater. This is especially so if the Chengdu plant is where the bulk of the Apple tablet PCs are manufactured, as opposed to the Shenzhen factory. The full production loss, according to Abramsky, could be as dramatic as 2.8 million units. For his part, he believes the tech icon would ship 8 million iPads during the current quarter ending June.

A nice problem to have

With the Apple tablet PCs being such sales behemoths, the company finds itself with a nice problem on its hands. The inability to make enough is far better than the inability to sell enough – a problem some competing tablet PCs are facing. Nevertheless, this is no doubt frustrating for the company.

Photo: orb9220 / Flickr

The New York Times has just reported that, while the Amazon Kindle e-reader continues to dominate in overall sales of digital readers and digital books, there is one area where Barnes & Noble’s Nook Color e-reader is dominating – and that is in the sales of women’s magazines.

More popular with women

Women’s magazine publishers are reportedly seeing great success on the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, with females preferring to read on that device than on either the Kindle or the iPad.

As unintuitive as that may be, The Times’ almost juvenile reason for this is that the Nook is a ‘simpler’ device to work with.

We’re pleasantly surprised

Liz Schimel, who is the executive VP for digital media at Meredith, publishers of Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and a few other women’s magazines, was extremely pleased with the results they’ve seen.

Speaking to NYT, she says: ‘We didn’t really know what to expect.’ We regarded it as sort of a test. Would the Nook magazine experience resonate with consumers? We were extremely pleasantly surprised. I think Barnes & Noble has been very smart about creating a whole brand and a campaign that’s really targeted at their core mass audience which overlaps nicely with our audience.’

iPad capabilities, Kindle simplicity

With the Nook having a colour screen like the iPad, as well as having portability like the Amazon Kindle, the device strikes a perfect balance, making it suitable as a digital reader for magazines.

Segment, think, segment

For manufacturers of digital readers – and even tablet PCs to some extent – this is certainly food for thought. It’s business 101, really, in that if you cannot win an entire device category, securing a segment of a category may be sufficient for wracking up some sales.

It’s also further evidence that one should look at digital publishing and digital books beyond just novels and hardbacks. In this regard, what Kno was trying with building a tablet PC with a focus on textbooks and students was well informed.

We’ll see what more the Barnes & Noble Nook Color will do to compete against the likes of the iPad and the Kindle.

Photo: LinkedIn

LinkedIn, the social network for business, went public yesterday, with investors rallying behind the company. At the close of trading, the company’s share price had ballooned to $93.86 per share, giving the firm a valuation of $8.9 billion (£5.47b).

Investors very bullish

Although the company priced their IPO at $45 per share, trading began at an incredibly inflated $83 – an 84 per cent increase fresh out the gates. It would reach as high as $122.70, and bottom out at $80 during the day’s trading.

Lots of money raised

By days end, the LinkedIn IPO raised $352.8 million in proceeds for the company from the offering of 7,840,000 shares, with a further 94.5 million shares in the stock still outstanding.

Speaking to Bloomberg TV about the offering, Jeff Weiner, the social network for business’ CEO said he was pleased with the outcome. Though there have been murmurings of a ‘bubble’, Weiner said: ‘We’re in it for the long haul in terms of realizing the potential and opportunity of this platform. In terms of today’s initial trades, we’ll leave that to the marketplace.’

He continued, saying: ‘I wouldn’t read too much into any one day of trading. We’re in this for the long-term. As we continue to focus on executing our business, the fundamentals will be there and the stock price will take care of itself.’

Bubble, much?

Nevertheless, talks of a bubble cannot be avoided, especially if one considers just how strong the LinkedIn IPO is relative to other tech public offerings in recent times.

The company is looking to mobile devices, most specifically contemporary smartphones, as one of its primary avenues for platform growth. Whether the social network for business is worth its price is up to you to decide, but congratulations are in order for the team, nevertheless.

Photo: Jorge Quinteros / Flickr

Microsoft is fed up with the inroads Apple has made in the student market and is pulling out the big guns. The company has just announced a colossal incentive for college students based in the US to purchase a new Windows 7 PC because they will be throwing in a free Xbox 360 with the deal!

Boom, what now Apple?

The deal encourages students – the frequently cash-strapped looking-for-beer-money generation – to purchase a PC over a Mac or Linux machine, since spending $699 or more on a brand new Windows 7 PC will net them a 4GB Xbox 360.

This deal is similar to what Apple has done in the past, previously offering students iPods and later iPod Touches with every purchase of a Mac. No disrespect to Apple and its hugely popular iPods, but an Xbox 360 just seems the better deal, and oftentimes perception is all you need.

Everything the student needs

Kathleen Hall, who is general manager of Windows Marketing for Microsoft, was expectedly excited about the deal. She said: ‘A hot new Windows 7-based PC with a free Xbox 360 is the ultimate productivity, social and entertainment package for students.’ She continued, saying: ‘In one shot, with this great offer, Microsoft is giving students everything they need for a successful new school year.’

Successful? I nearly failed my first year of college due to an unhealthy obsession with Gears of War’s online multiplayer. Microsoft is also overlooking a healthy beer budget – something that is part and parcel with the college experience, or so we’ve been told.

Nevertheless, who will turn their nose up at a free Xbox 360? The Windows 7 platform is fantastic, so being rewarded for buying something you might’ve bought anyway is fantastic. Americans get everything, while the rest of the world is left looking on longingly.

Photo: The GameWay / Flickr

As proof that no amount of setbacks can completely kill momentum, an analyst has come forward predicting that RIM’s BlackBerry Playbook tablet PC has sold 250,000 units to date, and is on course to sell half a million units in its first quarter of availability.

Better than Zoom

The report comes courtesy of Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC, whose channel checks have revealed the estimated sales figures to date, and the 500,000 units sold first quarter momentum. If, indeed, Abramsky is correct, Rim’s BlackBerry Playbook would have outsold the Motorola Xoom Android Honeycomb tablet, a device that had as high a profile as the Playbook prior to launch among the growing crop of tablets.

‘Playbook sales remain steady since launch,’ noted Abramsky. He added that: ‘Checks at 180 Best Buys show 14 percent of the 16GB model sold out, 71 percent of the 32GB model sold out, and 84 percent of the 64GB model sold out; however, 32GB/64GB stock-outs appear allocation-related.’

Can’t knock us down

The good sales momentum comes as something of a surprise, considering the BlackBerry Playbook released to less than stellar reviews, the company has had to recall 1,000 of them due to design defect and RIM itself revised its financial forecast for the quarter downwards.

Nevertheless, proving that the BlackBerry name still carries plenty of weight, these BlackBerry tablet PC sales are not to be sneezed at. RIM Co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, earlier this year claimed interest in the device was extremely high. He said: ‘Let me put it this way: I have many corporate clients that have approached us about, you know, each wanting tens of thousands, several tens of thousands of PlayBooks.’

These BlackBerry tablet PC sales figures have certainly vindicated him, confirming his suspicions were likely correct, and that suspicions that the device was dead in the water were overblown. The BlackBerry tablet PC will be available in the UK from 16 June onwards, with retailers already taking pre-orders.

Photo: Todd Barnard / Flickr

In the race to be the mobile OS app store to conquer them all, the Amazon Appstore has signed a potentially telling deal with casual games behemoth PopCap. The deal will see certain Android PopCap games available exclusively on Amazon’s platform before you can get them elsewhere.

The games

At present the exclusivity is for two different two-week periods. The first game, Chuzzle, is available exclusively on the Amazon Appstore from right now until 30 May. The second game is casual gaming titan Plants vs. Zombies, which will also be available on Amazon’s platform for two weeks, before Android users can get it anywhere else.

As a further goodwill gesture to users of the platform, Amazon has managed to get PopCap to agree to make the games freely available on their first day release. From that point onwards the Android games will cost $2.99 each.

Once the exclusive distribution period is over, it’s expected the PopCap games will be available on other Android stores, like the Android Marketplace and GetJar.

We’re happy

Giordano Bruno Contestabile, who is the senior director of global product and business strategy for PopCap’s mobile business, said that: ‘Our relationship with Amazon is pivotal to PopCap’s overall strategy in bringing a growing roster of mobile titles to the ever-widening base of smartphone users.’ He continued: ‘By making these titles available on the Android platform, we’ll significantly extend the reach of our top franchises to legions of new mobile customers and gaming fans alike.’

Drug money

If our experience with PopCap games is anything to go by, Android gamers should be more fearful than they are excited about these titles arriving on their platform. Not only has the casual games company built its reputation off making highly polished games, they’re insanely addictive, too. They’re the equivalent of digital crack cocaine. Be wary, especially if Peggle and Bejeweled are scheduled to follow soon after. Android gamers, you have been warned.

Photo: amseymohsen / Flickr

In the build up to its release, the RIM BlackBerry Playbook was touted as the big iPad killer. Upon arrival, though, the device was greeted with lukewarm reviews, with many saying the hardware was up to scratch but the software still not completely baked.

Now the Playbook woes continue, with the company responding to rumours that they had recalled over 900 16GB BlackBerry tablet PCs because the units were faulty.

Staples memo

Staples, a US Vendor, had received a memo from RIM who told them that the units affected ‘would not operate’. BlackBerry fan site CrackBerry later contacted the company, who said that while the problem was real, most users went unaffected.

Don’t worry!

In a statement, the company said: ‘RIM determined that approximately one thousand BlackBerry PlayBook tablets (16 GB) were shipped with an OS build that may result in the devices being unable to properly load software upon initial set-up.’

The BlackBerry tablet PC maker added that the faulty tablets have yet to even reach users. ‘The majority of the affected devices are still in the distribution channel and haven’t reached customers. RIM is working to replace the affected devices.’

Not a train smash, but still

What we can gather from this is that the Blackberry Playbook recall isn’t nearly as bad as it could have been. Furthermore, for those of us who live in the UK, where the BlackBerry tablet PC is still a month away, we’re all but assured the stock coming this way is unaffected by the problem.

Nevertheless, RIM finds itself with its back against the wall. Investors have turned on it, as have consumers it seems, and with the Playbook being RIM’s big release for this period, the last thing they needed was yet another set back.