MasterCard announced PayPass Wallet Services, a new global offering for banks, merchants and partners that will make it faster and easier for their customers to make purchases in stores or online by allowing them to securely pay with a simple click of the mouse, touch of the tablet screen or tap of the smartphone.
PayPass Wallet Services delivers three distinct components — PayPass Acceptance Network (PayPass Online and PayPass Contactless), PayPass Wallet and PayPass API. These services enable a consistent shopping experience no matter where and how consumers shop, as well as a suite of digital wallet services, and developer tools to make it easier to connect other wallets into the PayPass Online acceptance network.
American Airlines and Barnes & Noble will be among the first merchant partners to incorporate the PayPass Online checkout button on their websites, and American will integrate PayPass Wallet into its mobile application.
“Consumers are looking to pay for goods when, how and where they choose. Merchants want flexibility to easily accept digital payments so they can convert more browsers to buyers both online and in store,” said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. “We realize that when it comes to payments, no single wallet will rule them all. PayPass Wallet Services simplifies the shopping experience while providing flexibility and choice to merchants, banks and consumers.” | |
The updated app features a completely refreshed design with new functionality and brings users a customizable digital listening experience that combines the best of both worlds – live broadcast and Custom Stations – to deliver everything listeners want in one, fully-integrated service. The iHeartRadio for iPad App now includes:
Custom Stations, allowing users to create their own personalized stations by simply entering an artist or song and iHeartRadio will then create a station of similar music. iHeartRadio’s Custom Stations offer a number of industry-leading features, including:
- More Songs – Users can draw from a massive catalog of nearly 14 million songs and 400,000 artists.
- Greater User Control – With its unique “discovery tuner,” users can tune their Custom Station to play familiar songs – or adjust the tuner to “discovery mode” to play a wider variety of artists and songs from iHeartRadio’s massive music catalog. A “Thumbs Up” or “Thumbs Down” feature allows users to indicate song preferences to further personalize their stations.
- Better Music Intelligence – iHeartRadio’s music intelligence capability combines a sophisticated technology solution with ongoing consumer music research and the expertise of Clear Channel’s leading radio programmers to give users the best custom radio experience available.
- Commercial-free – Custom Stations continue to be commercial-free since launch last September.
- Support for the Retina display on the new iPad, enabling users to experience the New iHeartRadio with stunning visual clarity; and
- Deeper Facebook integration, which lets users share listening activity with friends via their timelines and tap into each other’s musical tastes by listening to songs and stations that they like. This deeper Facebook integration serves as a means to greater music discovery, making users’ digital radio experiences more personal and relevant.
| |
Skype released an official version of the Skype for Windows Phone app, which is now available in the Windows Phone Marketplace. You can also get the app directly from your Windows Phone.
With Skype on your Windows Phone, you can join the thriving community of 200 million people using Skype every month across almost any screen: smartphones & tablets (running Android, iOS, and Symbian), computers & laptops (Mac, Windows) and connected TVs. See the video above to see how the app works.
Available for use on 4G, 3G and WiFi networks, Skype for Windows Phone helps you connect with friends and family instantly with free voice and video calls everywhere you go. Make affordable calls to landlines and mobiles using Skype Credit, create and hold one-to-one and group chats (even while in the middle of a call), and update your profile and account information, among others features. | |
PayByPhone, a leading international provider of systems for parking and urban mobility payments is pleased to announce Ottawa as the latest major North American city to implement its popular cell phone payment method for parking. PayByPhone parking allows drivers to pay for and extend their parking time using a mobile app, online, or calling a local phone number. Ottawa is the first Canadian city to incorporate near field communication (NFC) and QR code features for its parking payments. "We're pleased to be the first Canadian city to offer a NFC option to PayByPhone users," said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson. "The City of Ottawa is always looking at ways to provide better service to our residents, and PayByPhone is another way we're doing that."
Every Pay & Display machine in Ottawa has a PayByPhone sticker with instructions on how use the system. Embedded in that sticker is an NFC tag with the location number of the Pay & Display machine. Once signed up, customers who have an NFC compatible smartphone simply wave it over the logo on the sticker and the PayByPhone app or mobile web page is launched. The system recognizes the user, identifies the parking location, and the customer enters the amount of time desired. An optional text message is sent five minutes before the parking session ends, and if needed, allows additional time to be purchased via the phone (subject to time restrictions).
"There has been a lot of hype around NFC recently and we're pleased to implement this technology for real-world applications," said Neil Podmore, VP of Business Development at PayByPhone. "This is the first use of NFC for parking in Canada and we expect more widespread adoption in 2012"
| |
Today you can download new versions of Twitter for iPhone in the App Store and Twitter for Android in Google Play. These updates make it easier to find out what’s happening on Twitter with improvements to discover, search and notifications.
Discover
The Discover tab helps you find interesting and timely content that matters to you. With this update, you can see Activity on Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android. Activity is a stream of updates that shows which Tweets are favorited or retweeted by the people you follow and which accounts those people follow or add to lists.
Activity appears below the redesigned stories in Discover. Now you can tap any story once to see Tweets about a particular trend or news article. You can then read the entire story or join the conversation by replying, retweeting or favoriting related Tweets.
Search
Search is now simpler in both mobile apps. You can see suggestions for different spellings and related terms for your queries. Finding the people you’re looking for is faster, too. In the Connect tab, you can start typing the first or last name or username of the person you’re looking for and the name will autocomplete for people that you follow.
We’ve also made a few improvements specifically for iPhone: when you tap the search box in Discover, you’ll see your most recent queries. You can also go directly to someone’s profile when searching for a username in Connect. | |
Getting online fast, and affordably, is crucial for Internet users everywhere. Now that experience is about to get even faster and easier with an update for all existing Nokia Browser users, covering phones across the Nokia Asha range and Series 40 devices.
We know Nokia Browser is often the first, and main, way of accessing the Internet for millions of you in dynamic fast-growing parts of the world. Since the Browser launched last year you’ve been able to access all the information you need, without the headache of worrying about your data bill.
Nokia Browser condenses data by up to 90%. That makes loading web sites faster, and cheaper – in fact, our cloud-accelerated browsing makes loading web sites up to three times faster. If you’re on a pay-per-use contract you’ll enjoy cheaper browsing, or if you’re on an operator data plan you’ll be able to do more web surfing without exceeding your monthly usage limits.
Download Manager
As well as needing less data to show the same web pages you also want to do different things at the time. We know you are busy. Using the new Download Manager you can save music, video or pictures on a memory card, while you’re surfing the Internet.
The update also includes a host of new features to make searching, discovering and sharing content even easier… | |
For many of us, the most natural way to communicate with other people is with our voice. And now AT&T is giving developers the tools to build apps and services that also let you use your voice to communicate with your smartphone, television and other digital devices.
The foundations for these tools are the state-of-the-art AT&T Watson speech recognition technology services that researchers at AT&T Labs have been developing and refining for years.
We already use AT&T Watson services in a variety of applications, such as mobile voice directory search with YPMobile, voice mail to text and other uses, and we have more than 600 patents in this area. But a great platform is only half the innovation equation. We know the best way to accelerate innovation is by opening our platforms and network services to outside developers.
So in June, we plan to launch several AT&T Watson Speech application programming interfaces (APIs) that developers can access to quickly create great new apps and services with voice recognition and transcription capabilities. The first AT&T Watson Speech APIs will be focused on seven areas: web search, local business search, question and answer, voice mail to text, S, U-verse electronic programming guide, and a dictation API for general use of speech recognition. | |
Google has announced that Chrome for Android Beta is now available in 31 more languages and in all countries where Google Play is available. Google has also added many much-requested features, including:
- You can now request the desktop version of a website, in case you would rather not view the mobile version.
- You can now add bookmarks as shortcuts on your home screen, so you can get to your favorite sites faster.
- Choose your favorite apps to handle links opened in Chrome.
- Have a proxy setup for Wi-Fi access? You can now use Chrome with the system proxy configured in Android settings.
If you build websites, you may want to take note of a change in the User-Agent specification for Chrome for Android.
If you haven’t already, you can install Chrome for Android Beta from Google Play on your Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) phone or tablet.
| |
Making it easier than ever for small businesses to find the right mobile applications to help them succeed, AT&T has launched the new Mobile Applications for Small Business website.
According to the recent AT&T Small Business Technology Poll**, 85 percent of small businesses surveyed use smartphones and about one-third use mobile apps to keep their businesses going wherever they may be, so having easy access to business-critical apps is more important than ever.
Key Features
The Mobile Applications for Small Business website enables:
- A visual, user-friendly experience for customers looking to learn more about mobile apps and their benefits
- Convenient online purchasing and provisioning of select apps directly from the website using Buy Now – a first among wireless carriers
- A direct connection to AT&T’s interactive SMART app recommender tool, which takes the guesswork out of finding and purchasing the best apps for small business
- Based on input from small business users, the SMART tool – also available at www.att.com/smart - offers a list of more than 50 recommended solutions, product information, and video demos to help customers decide on the best apps for their business
- The tool’s interface has recently been re-designed to improve customer experience, enhancing navigation and ease of use
- Easy access to the AT&T Certified Solutions Catalog, featuring more than 500 certified solutions that address the mobility needs of various business types and sizes
|
|
Amazon.com, Inc. today announced an In-App Purchasing (IAP) service, making it easy for Amazon Appstore developers to offer digital content and subscriptions for purchase within apps and games that are available on millions of Kindle Fires and other Android devices.
Amazon Appstore's In-App Purchasing service is simple for developers to integrate and helps monetize their apps and games, while offering customers a seamless and secure 1-Click purchasing experience. Top developers including ZeptoLab, Disney, Glu Mobile Inc., Storm8, Social Gaming Network, Gameloft, G5 Entertainment Inc., and top publishers like Condé Nast, The Wall Street Journal and New York Post, have already integrated Amazon Appstore's In-App Purchasing API and are offering millions of Amazon customers in-app content and subscriptions. To learn more, developers can watch a video about Amazon's In-App Purchasing service at http://www.youtube.com/amazonappstoredev. To find the Quick Start Guide, sample code, tutorials and FAQs, visit the Amazon Appstore Developer Portal at http://developer.amazon.com/appstore.
"Amazon Appstore's In-App Purchasing service enables developers to generate more revenue from their apps," said Aaron Rubenson, Director of Amazon Appstore. "In-App Purchasing is simple to integrate and gives developers access to millions of Amazon customers who are already familiar with Amazon's 1-Click payment system. Many of Amazon Appstore's customers have shopped with Amazon before and they trust Amazon's easy payment process, which leads to higher conversion of developers' in-app content and subscriptions."
G5 Entertainment
| |
CompanionLink Software announces two-way synchronization of contacts, calendar, tasks, and contact photos between Microsoft Outlook and the new Nokia Lumia™ 900 from AT&T. In addition to Outlook, CompanionLink syncs the Lumia 900 with Sage ACT!, Palm Desktop, IBM Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, Highrise, and other cloud and desktop CRM tools.
The Lumia 900 is one of the most anticipated Windows Phones to date. It features a large 4.3” display and its 1.4GHz processor and 4G speeds make it one of the fastest Windows Phones available. At just $99 on contract, there’s no doubt this will be a popular and affordable option for people looking to buy their first smartphone.
CompanionLink will sync CRM data with the Lumia 900. The company offers two sync options: Sync via Windows Live and Sync via Google. Both offer advanced settings not found in other sync solutions, such as category filters, field mapping, syncing specific Outlook folders, and much more. These advanced features make CompanionLink ideal for the professional on the go.
CompanionLink 5 starts at $14.95 per license. A 14-day free trial is also available. CompanionLink offers free email and telephone support, free updates and a 90-day money back guarantee on all products.
To learn more about CompanionLink’s sync options for the Lumia 900, visit www.companionlink.com/windowsphone/. |
|
Today’s smartphone customers rely on their wireless device for many different activities, including email, music, games, shopping, banking and Web surfing. With more and more information on the device, it is important to protect it from prying eyes or dangerous downloads if it is lost or stolen.
According to a recent study from Symantec, 70 percent of the people who found a lost smartphone tried to access both the personal and business information that was stored on the device.1 Sprint and Norton by Symantec announced today that they are providing Sprint customers easy access to Norton Mobile Security Lite to better protect their smartphone from loss, theft or malware.
With Norton Mobile Security Lite, a free security application for Android-based smartphones, customers can remotely lock their smartphone with a simple text message if it is lost or stolen. It scans all files and application updates downloaded to a device and automatically detects and removes threats. Sprint customers using select Android-powered devices can easily download the Norton Mobile Security Lite application from Google Play by clicking on the application within Sprint Zone or the Sprint Tab in Google Play. Customers can find Sprint Zone as an icon on their device.2
“Sprint continues to work with industry leaders in the mobile security space to offer our customers best in-class options to better protect the important information stored on their smartphone or tablet,” said Fared Adib, senior vice president-Product, Sprint. “Last year Sprint established a mobile security council, bringing together key players in the mobile ecosystem to address protection, safety and security needs important to consumers and businesses. It also is important to educate consumers about potential risks and to offer solutions such as Norton Mobile Security Lite.” | |
A new version of Twitter for BlackBerry introduces new features that make it easier to connect to the people and things you care about.
Twitter for BlackBerry makes it easier to share links to web pages directly from the browser. When you tweet a link it will automatically be shortened so it takes up fewer characters. And, you can upload photos to Twitter (pic.twitter.com) right from your device’s camera or when writing your Tweets.
Now you can connect your Twitter account with BlackBerry Messenger. This makes it possible to share your latest Tweet as your BBM Personal Message. You can also access your contacts' Twitter accounts right from their BBM profiles.
You can download this version of Twitter for BlackBerry now from BlackBerry App World. | |
Nuance Communications, Inc. today announced that the Snapguide app for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad features voice dictation powered by Nuance. Snapguide is the latest app to integrate Nuance voice technology via the Dragon Mobile SDK and the NDEV Mobile Developer program, allowing people to dictate the text for visual captions as they create simple, step-by-step how-to guides – or discover new guides – for virtually anything.
Snapguide gives people the power to find, document and share how-to guides right on their device, with visually-rich content that can feature photos, videos and simple step-by-step instructions that can be shared via Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and email. By integrating Dragon voice recognition, Snapguide lets people simply speak the text accompanying the visual elements of their own how-to guides. Snapguide is currently available for free on the Apple App Store.
“The concept of Snapguide is deep rooted in the ability to create, show and share simple step-by-step instructions for anything – be it cooking recipes or crafts. By integrating the Dragon voice recognition technology, people can create guides and share them in the simplest way possible – just by speaking,” said Daniel Raffel, founder, Snapguide.
“Consumers love the ability to speak to their phones and apps,” said Matt Revis, vice president and general manager, handset business, Nuance Mobile. “NDEV Mobile empowers social app developers like Snapguide to deliver that experience to their users. And because it’s powered by Dragon, people are amazed at the quality of the experience – be it sending an email, or sharing ideas with friends and family via Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.” | |
Good Technology, the leading provider of secure and managed enterprise mobility and collaboration tools for a range of mobile devices, announced the availability of Good Mobile Access (GMA) for Android, a secure mobile browser for Android devices. GMA is a feature of the Good for Enterprise solution that provides secure mobile access to behind-the-firewall applications, resources and data without needing a virtual private network (VPN) connection. With GMA for Android, companies can improve employee productivity by providing seamless access to critical corporate Intranet resources through a secure mobile browser while also preventing data loss.
Android devices continue to gain momentum in the marketplace among consumers, and its use is subsequently spilling over into the enterprise as a result of the bring-your-own device (BYOD) movement. According to Gartner, "Android has a more than 50 percent share of the worldwide smartphone market as of 3Q11, up from 25.3 percent in 2010. It's the No. 1 smartphone platform in North America, with a 62 percent market share."1
"Consumer use of Android devices has really taken off, and we are seeing increased enterprise adoption, especially among our customers who support formal BYOD programs," said John Herrema, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Good Technology. "Supporting BYOD means supporting Android devices, and we want to make sure our customers can confidently embrace this trend, increase employee productivity, and not have to compromise on security or compliance." | |
Taking a page from Etta James, Opera Mini 7 is “a thrill to press your cheek to” for Android users. Today, Opera Software launched the Opera Mini 7 web browser in a final version for the Android platform.
This must-have app is your web surfing soulmate. 160 million monthly users of Opera Mini already know that this must-have app makes web browsing on your phone faster and can help save costs. If you’re watching your mobile data diet, now’s the time to go download the Opera Mini 7 app from the Android Market.What’s new, Stu?
Glad you asked, Max! Opera Mini 7 for Android makes browsing faster and panning around sites smoother, thanks to improved hardware acceleration.
Feeling boxed in by only nine favorite Speed Dial sites on the Home Screen? With Opera Mini 7, you get as many Speed Dial buttons as you’ll ever want. Add all the sites you want to see right from the moment you start up your browser. No more messing around with fiddly mobile keyboards or bookmarks. | |
|
Phone Finder
