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Google Snaps up another Startup-This time QuickOffice

June 6, 2012 by

Google has once again used its pocketbook as an extension of its research and development division and has now purchased QuickOffice, a developer of technology that enables the interoperability of popular file formats and other productivity software.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it marks the second purchase in as many days by Google, this one following its deal to buy Meebo yesterday. QuickOffice has had at least four rounds of funding according to Crunchbase, starting with a $7 million Series A and has raised a estimated total of $28.5 million since its founding.

It is the very ability to open a wide variety of apps created in an array of file formats that led to the deal, according to a blog post by Google. The company intends to integrate the technology into its existing Google Apps suite, it said.

This deal will not directly enhance Google’s Google + social environment but it should be a boon to a wide range of mobile users that receive a file that they cannot open because they do not have the proper software that was used to create the file.

In addition any office that is migrating away from an office suite such as Microsoft Office but still need to either open existing or older files or ones received from outside will benefit from the inclusion of this technology. I suspect this will help give Google Apps greater acceptance in the corporate environment both as a mobile and a desktop technology

Filed Under: Apps, Google, QuickOffice Tagged With: ,

Webscorer Debuts Timing Apps to Save Plenty of Time at Races

May 29, 2012 by

Sports fans, coaches, event organizers, timing companies, publishers and even proud parents can now easily track sporting event results with a new a comprehensive platform that automates much of more complicated manual timing formats.

Webscorer Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., has introduced a platform that includes three integrated components, also usable separately: a race registration tool, a manual race timing app that runs on the iPad and iPhone, and a website that supports race results posting from the Webscorer timing app and other sources via an open interface.

Webscorer PRO is available as an in-app subscription from Webscorer FAN at the following rates on the iPhone and iPad versions for $9.99 for one week and $49.99 for one year. Webscorer Online Race Registration Service Webscorer has varying costs. Webscorer .TXT Results Posting Service is free.

“As a racer myself, I witnessed the difficulty race organizers were having in timing races and providing timely results to racers,” said Vesa Suomalainen, CEO of Webscorer. “With the emergence of the mobile Internet, we saw an opportunity to help modernize the pen & paper method still widely used in recreational racing today.”

Founded in July 2009, Webscorer began with a mission to make race timing easier, more affordable and to improve the quality & speed to get the results to racers.

The full Webscorer platform is available worldwide. Webscorer has identified 36 timing-sports that can benefit from its products.

For more information, visit www.webscorer.com as well as the company’s Facebook, YouTube  pages and Twitter account (@webscorer).

Filed Under: Apps, Cycling, iPad, iPhone Tagged With: , , , , ,

Mobile Sports Report TechWatch: Facebook Phone, Dell Tablet Specs?

May 29, 2012 by

Toshiba has announced that it is getting out of the netbook market and will not be offering new ones, at least in the United States. This follows a trend that has been developing for some time as others have already discontinued their efforts, including Dell.

Toshiba said that it will instead be focusing on the ultrabook, an emerging class of notebooks that feature light, sleek form factors coupled with powerful processors, according to Liliputing. I suspect that the netbook category is going to be killed, at least in the US, by ultrabook from one direction and tablets in the other.

Dell Tablet specs leaked?
I am always a bit leery of publishing leaked information unless it was leaked to me personally but the piece over at Neowin looks pretty compelling. It appears that Dell is developing its forthcoming Windows 8 tablet around Intel’s Clover Trail dual core Atom processor and that the device will have a 10.1-inch HD display with 1366 x 768 resolution.

Other features include 2GB of memory and as much as 128 GB of SSD storage. An interesting feature looks to be a removable battery that allows users to choose between one that has a 6-8 hour life and a larger one that has 10-12 hour life.

Apple’s response to DOJ a good read
While I have not read the legal documents the people at Forbes have gone to the trouble and bring out some marvelous quotes from Apple’s filings and some interesting commentary about how they foresee the case progressing.

Not being a lawyer hinders any real objective opinion on my part but I think that the author of the piece, Philip Elmer-DeWitt, makes a pretty compelling argument on Apple’s side. Head over for his piece and a like to the Apple filing.

Crowdfunding site flaws?
I increasingly talk about crowd funding as it is an interesting method for small developers to get the initial funding needed to launch a product. However there is another side to the equation that is clearly brought out by Gizmodo — the failures.

It points out that companies that you see on its front page are ones that are getting funding, while ones that fail, or are on their way to failure, seem to completely disappear from the site, as it only wants to show winning or potential winning offerings.

Since, according to the article, Kickstarter gets a percentage of the amount pledged; this makes sense since only projects that get 100% of their request get anything. To see why some of them might have failed head over to Mashable for a short piece on crowd funding mistakes.

The Patent Wars continue

Microsoft wins round versus Motorola in Germany
Apparently Microsoft owns patents relating to how you splint one log text message into two smaller ones and Motorola has violated those patents. A German court ruled that Motorola’s technology to permit this feature infringes on Microsoft’s patents. It was reported that while Microsoft could ban Motorola products in the country it is instead seeking a license fee.

The two have been going at it tooth and nail for some time in the patent department with both sides scoring what appear to be major victories. I wonder of the license fee is the first step towards resolving their issues.

Apple tops in mobile PCs
The preliminary results are in for the NPD DisplaySearch’s Quarterly Mobile PC Shipments and Forecast Report is in and to the probably surprise of no one Apple is the top dog in this field. According to the report Apple shipped approximately 17.2 million mobile PCs in Q1’12.

This is a 118% increase over the same period from a year ago and of the total iPads represented 80% of Apple’s total, or 13.6 million units. For the industry as a whole the results were nowhere near as good with shipments growing 30% year to year, reaching 76.2 million for the quarter.

Cisco kills Tablet
In a move that surprised me because the product never appeared on my radar in the first place, Cisco is killing its Cius tablet. The networking giant had developed and introduced the tablet a year ago with the stated purpose of pioneering the business market with the product.

The tablet featured a 7-inch display and had a $750 list price. Sold via its channel partners it was obviously hurt by lower cost offerings from rivals that businesses increasingly allowed employees to bring in from home.

Facebook building smartphone?
The New York Times has reported that Facebook is once again dipping its toe into the smartphone market and has a project underway that should see a new product available in the market sometime next year.

According to the article Facebook has been actively hiring hardware and software engineers including a number that had worked on Apple’s iPhone. It had been reported a few years ago that Facebook had a development project for a phone but killed it.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Kickstarter, Mashable, Microsoft, Motorola, Smartphone, Startup, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Tons of Tablet Tidbits

May 18, 2012 by

So how many apps are too many?
A recent report from Neilsen called the” State of the Appnation” has some very interesting insights into how many apps users of smartphones have on their devices. With 88% of all smartphones running either Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android operating system the report mainly speaks to this market.

The average owner has 32 apps while over half have at least ten more loaded on their devices. An interesting tidbit is that the more apps you have the more time you spend using your apps. An issue that seems to be at the top of everyone’s list these days also appeared in the study where 73% were concerned about how their personal data was being used.


Wearing Skechers is not a workout-Who would have guessed?
The Federal Trade Commission has dropped the hammer on exercise shoemaker Sketchers over its claims that wearing its products would help tone your lower body muscles and help you in losing weight. Apparently they do not.

The company, after a bit of thought and possibly a great deal of lawyer talk agreed and is now on the hook to payback $40 million in refunds. The Consumerist predicted this last year and you should head over and see its coverage.

Windows Tablets by Thanksgiving?
Cnet is reporting that the first batch of tablets from developers that have adopted Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system should be here in November, and that Intel will be inside. The OS will support multiple operating systems it reported, claiming that it will be able to handle multiple versions of ARM, Intel as well as AMD.

It is interesting that what is also expected is a wave of hybrid systems, tablets that have physical keyboards and probably other iterations. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook took a stab at what he viewed the futility of hybrids during Apple’s most recent earning call.

The Intel-powered devices will use an as yet shipped processor from the company called “Clover Trail” that is a dual core processor in its Atom family.

Source: SCP Auctions

Lied about playing in the Super Bowl? Well now you can get that ring
Sadly Lawrence Taylor’s life continues its downward trend and he is being forced to sell one of his two Super Bowl rings at auction Available from SCP Auctions the ring, from Super Bowl XXV has two large football shaped diamonds surrounded by seventeen smaller diamonds.

The ring also has Taylor designed into as well as his uniform number. At last look the bidding was at $67,000 and is expected to rise significantly before the bidding is closed on Saturday. According to news reports he has not said why he is selling the ring.

Tablet Traffic soaring according to Adobe
A study from Adobe is showing the big and growing impact that tablets are having on web traffic, according to a report from eWeek. The report shows that tablet traffic is already growing 10 times that of smartphones and that it estimates that tablet traffic will represent 10% of all website traffic in two years.

The result of all of this is that it should encourage developers and web site operators to ensure that they have optimized for that traffic since, at least currently, tablet users represent a wealthier portion of the population and so more likely to purchase services and products.

Google to go direct with Tablet?
A report from the Wall Street Journal said that all signs are pointing to Google going direct with next generation smartphones and tablets that are being built for the company. The devices will be available under its Nexus label and are expected to be available in the Fall holiday selling season.

The reason for the move is apparently to eliminate wireless carriers that add their own special sauce so that the devices sold via their sales channels will only work on their wireless networks. The move will likely put it in direct competition with current allies such as Samsung and Amazon.

Facebook’s next goal- Bigger Mobile presence
The Facebook pre-IPO road show is winding down but the message has been delivered-We are going to monetize mobile Facebook its executives have said consistently while talking to investors across the country.

It s mobile app is very popular, just not very cash flow positive and it has said that it will be looking to reverse this as it appears that the mobile version is now fueling a great deal of the company’s growth. The company has recently ramped up its app development efforts

HTC smartphones blocked at US customs due Apple ITC ruling
If you were waiting for the latest smartphone from HTC, say the HTC One X, your wait just became a bit longer as Apple has gotten the US Customs to block entry into the United States the HTC One X and the HTC EVO 4G LTE, a move that could really harm the HTC EVO 4G LTE which is expected to launch today.

This move is the result of a ruling by the US International Trade Commission from last year that found that HTC infringed on an Apple patent and that all devices that used the technology from HTC would be barred. However phoneArena.com speculates that HTC has included workarounds to the patents in these offerings.

Apple also granted a patent
Apple has also been awarded a patent for soft keyboards used with its iOS. The patent is called “Method, system, and graphical user interface for selecting a soft keyboard” and that pretty much explains it, right?

Well according to The Inquirer, Apple has had a related patent for three years and that the current one describes in detail how the soft keyboard relates to user interfaces and how they are used in selecting soft keyboards.

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Facebook, FTC, HTC, Intel Capital, Lawsuit, Mashable, Microsoft, Nielsen Ratings, Smartphone, Tablets, Wall Street Journal Tagged With: , ,

Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is here-Let the iPhone Comparisons Begin!

May 14, 2012 by

Samsung is the leader in the tablet space- the non-Apple tablet space that is, and has expanded its offerings with the full size Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, a 10.-1 inch device that will naturally being comparisons to Apple’s iPad offerings.

However it seems that it is much more than just a competitor to Apple, it has to shone above the existing Android tablets and hold its own above the hope that will start coming from the Windows 8 tablet crowd.

The tablet uses the latest Android 4.0 operating system (Ice Cream Sandwich) is powered by 1GHz dual-core OMAP processor from Texas Instruments and has a 1280 x 800 display and has a 3.2 megapixel rear camera and a VGA front facing camera. An entry level model with 16GB of storage will have a $400 price tag.

It is doubtful that the big selling point for the tablet is going to be the hardware since it is pretty clos to what Samsung offered in its Galaxy Tab 10.1 but rather the full package which means lot of Samsung software and apps as well as the fact that it is $100 less than an iPad with the same storage at least a new iPad.

Among the software app that is included in the tablet are Peel smart remote, AllShare and Samsung Media Hub, and SoundAlive. In a review over at including Mashable the Peel app was rated pretty poorly, but there are a number of additional programs on the device as well.

Most sites that have reviewed the tablet give it at least a lukewarm approval rating, but I believe that Samsung should have shot for more. Its display is not as good as Apple’s nor is its camera. While it has a strong position in the Android space, it is about to face a huge wave of competition very soon.

PC World does a very nice job providing a roundup of what is expected throughout the summer, based on statements from the companies involved as well as rumors that seem to have some creditability. New or improved offerings from Apple, Google, Barnes & Noble and Amazon are all expected.

Then there will be the Windows 8 players sometime around the end of the summer. Hewlett-Packard has said it will be there as has Dell, although neither has said when. Then Microsoft’s new relationship with Barnes & Noble could bring that popular platform into the fold. Lenovo is making a major research and development effort n this area and could come in as an Android player, a Windows 8 or both with future offerings.

With this in front of it I am surprised that Samsung did not deliver a stronger offering although I suspect that this is a stopgap effort and that by the back to school season we may see yet another tablet from the company.

Filed Under: Amazon, Android, Apple, Apps, Asus, Barnes & Noble, Dell, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, iPad, Kindle, Lenovo, Mashable, Microsoft, Nook, PCWorld, Samsung, Tablets Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Will the Facebook App Center be a Boon to Sports App Developers?

May 10, 2012 by

The list of places that you can go and search for the app that scratches your most current itch has just gotten one stop longer as Facebook has formally launched its latest service that it is calling the App Center.

What makes the site look like it might have real legs is that it is not just focused on one operating system or platform, but rather seeks to be a one stop shop for the Mobile Web, Android and iOS users, and the company said that it believes that it can be the destination site for mobile application users.
A user can view apps, select the one that they want and then download it vie either from the App Store or from Google Play. There is one caveat, the apps have to be designed to be used on Facebook and all apps need to have a Facebook login.

While one of the problems that I have found in recent times perusing app stores is that there are just so many I spend a good deal of time either honing down my search or just reading the specifications of a specific app.

Facebook is seeking to help with this issue by prominently displaying apps that garner solid reviews and ratings from users while dropping ones that continually get poor numbers. In addition it has established developer quality guidelines and apps that do not follow them will also not be displayed.

I wonder if and how sports apps will take advantage of this. Drop by a team’s official web page and you can see how popular it is and how often it gets ‘likes’ I chose the San Francisco Giants and the page has 1.4 million likes. Boy does that give a developer of an app about the team a focused market.

Of course MLB might have something to say about apps being liked on the page, a quick look shows that the huge majority of links on the site are to official MLB sites, but not all of them. This is the same with all major sports but could actually be a better tool for developers looking at niche markets.

Rather than hope a fan of say rugby is going to search iTunes for rugby apps, they could have the app mentioned on a team page with a link to the Facebook App pages. Since this effort is just getting off the ground and the paid app portion is still in beat it will take a while to see if this shakes out well for the app developers in sports and out.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Facebook, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Rugby, Smartphone, Sports Social Media, Sports Social Media Data Tagged With: , , ,
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