Google rethinking Wallet strategy after failure to launch
Google Wallet was supposed to be the contactless payment service that freed us from our old-fashioned wallets. Lack of adoption, now coupled with the departure of several top Wallet executives at Google have left the future of the ill-fated system in question. Google is looking to revitalize Wallet using something few companies can offer: huge piles of money you could ski down.
The crux of the plan for Wallet, as reported by Bloomberg, is that Google would enter into a revenue sharing agreement with carriers like Verizon Wireless and AT&T to ensure that Wallet is on phones sold by the networks. T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon have all announced plans to back a competing standard for contactless payments called ISIS. It’s unclear if Google can lay out enough cash to win the carriers over.
Google wallet and ISIS both work by employing near field communication (NFC) to get a device and reader kiosk talking to each other. Google chose to partner with MasterCard to gain access to its PayPass ecosystem of card readers, but the deal left consumers with very few choices for compatible credit card accounts.
Perhaps more troublesome for Google Wallet has been the almost complete lack of compatible phones. The Nexus S 4G on Sprint remains the only officially supported device, with the flagship LTE Galaxy Nexus being left out. An imported GSM Galaxy Nexus can install Google Wallet, but that adds virtually nothing the the Google Wallet ranks.
Late last year, Google went so far as to fold its Google Checkout service into Wallet; the brand isn’t going anywhere. However, with the fallout after the recent Google Wallet hacks, the carriers have all the power in any negotiations, having already cited a lack of security. With ISIS expected to launch this year, Google is running out of time to get its act together.
via Bloomberg
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The Telegraph to launch new Android application
The Telegraph, long respected British broadsheet newspaper, have announced they are to launch a new application for Android.
Not content with just pushing their printed content to a mobile app, The Telegraph's offering will also bring with it breaking news, live financial data, picture galleries and video content.
Perhaps the best feature though — well for soccer football fanatics like myself — is how The Telegraph will be handling their football coverage. Live scores, tables, fixtures and results are a given, but subscribers in the UK will also be able to access Premier League highlights courtesy of ESPN. Goals can even be viewed when a match is still being played.
The usual social network sharing options are on board, so your friends on Facebook and followers on Twitter can see the news stories you want to share with them. A customizable homepage is also thrown in for you to tailor the content you want to see.
Print subscribers — and iPad subscribers if you're into that sort of thing — will be able to take advantage of this application free of charge. The rest of us will have to pay a subscription fee, but The Telegraph are offering a free one month trial before you commit. No launch date has been given as yet, but is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Source: The Telegraph
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Isis mobile payment system to launch mid-2012, lists Chase, Capitol One, and Barclaycard as partners
Isis Mobile Wallet, the service backed by AT&T, T-Mobile US, and Verizon has announced new launch partners and it's long awaited trial launch date. New financial partners Chase, Capitol One, and Barclaycard join Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express for the trials in Austin, Texas and Salt Lake City, Utah which are expected to begin sometime in mid-2012. Isis isn't sharing much past that, as they say the nationwide rollout will follow the trial with no further details.
Isis partners will allow users to program both credit and debit cards into the mobile system, which gives it another leg up on Google Wallet. Add in the fact that Isis has carrier backing and pre-approval, and chances are that this will be the mobile NFC-based payment system we'll see on our devices when and if it catches on, at least in the US. That doesn't mean Google Wallet will disappear, but being available and being relevant are two different animals.
This doesn't mean that Isis is inherently bad, though. It may turn out to be an excellent product, and I'm excited to give it a try. We have to remember that Google Wallet isn't open and lovable, it is a for-profit venture from Google, much like Isis is a for-profit venture for its backers. When it comes to finances, few things are open and best for the consumer. The best product will be defined by the users and that's the one that will win out.
The full press release follows the break.
via BusinessWire
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Instapaper rival Readability to launch iOS app on Thursday
If you’re an iOS device owner who likes to read your web pages in “clean view” (plain text and images only) then your options are limited. Right now the two best ways to achieve this are by buying the excellent Instapaper app from the App Store, or simply using Safari’s built-in Reader feature.
Starting next week, however, you will have another strong option. Readability, whose service is nearly identical to Instapaper’s, is preparing to launch a native iOS app. It will be available for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch on Thursday, March 1.
Up to this point, Readability has offered its simplifying services as a web app, as well as being integrated into several popular third-party apps (such as Reeder, Pulse, and Tweetbot). When browsing RSS feeds or tweets in these apps, Readability powers the clean view option that those apps provide.
As you can see in the above video, the app looks a lot like Instapaper. Readability offers all of the same features as its rival — only with what appears to be a more refined UI, including crisp animations. The iPad version even offers a handy feature that lets you swipe to peek back at your reading list to quickly navigate to another post. As you’d expect from any modern app, social sharing features are also tightly integrated.
Though little else has been revealed about the app, we do know that it will let you build a list of “read later” articles. This will work the same way that it does in the web app: you add a Safari bookmarklet, and tap it to save a page to your Readability account. When you want to read it, just open the app to view an uncluttered version of the article.
Perhaps the best thing about Readability for iOS is that it will be free. When compared to the $ 5 Instapaper app, it could quickly become the preferred choice of many iPhone and iPad readers. Either way, iOS readers who appreciate barebones simplicity are about to have another great option on the table.
More at Readability
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iPhone 5 will reportedly launch this Fall
After Apple broke from its typical summer cycle and released the iPhone 4S in October, many wondered whether the company was making an exception, or establishing a new rule. Would the next iPhone go back to the standard June/July slot, or would new iPhones arrive every fall?
According to Japanese blog Macotakara, we have an answer. A story cites a “reliable source” as saying that the iPhone 5 will arrive this Fall, and that the Fall slot will now be the iPhone’s standard release slot.
This would make sense for several reasons. For starters, if Apple were to return to the old summer schedule, this would give iPhone 4S buyers less than a year before a new model arrives. Many would buy it anyway, but it could lead to some frustration with Apple. Additionally, the Fall slot was, for years, devoted to the iPod. The iPod line, however, is an endangered species which no longer warrants such a prime time (pre-holiday) slot.
Perhaps the biggest reason that it would make sense relates to sales. The iPhone 4S has been a monumental success, breaking iPhone sales records for Apple. Part of that was due to the pent-up anticipation for the next iPhone (it landed 16 months after the iPhone 4), but the 4S also benefited from the holiday shopping season. This would be a smart slot for Apple to keep the iPhone in.
With that said, previous rumors have suggested that the iPhone 5 would return to the summer slot. One advantage of doing this would be to snatch early iPhone 4 buyers who are up for a new two-year contract.
Which will it be? Only those who are sworn to secrecy know for sure, but we can promise you that there will be plenty more rumors about this for at least the next four months.
Macotakara, via Apple Insider
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ZTE PF200 and N910 buck the trend, launch with Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Even though Ice Cream Sandwich launched six months ago, the overwhelming majority of Android smartphones that have been revealed since still ship with Gingerbread installed. Update schedules have been published by many manufacturers, but ZTE is bucking the trend. Their PF200 and N910 will both launch with with Android 4.0 on board.
The tandem covers the top and bottom end of the Android spectrum. The ZTE PF200 sits at the top, with a 1.5GHz processor and 540 x 960 resolution display. Its rear-facing camera sports an 8MP sensor while the front-facing one packs 2MP for full 1080P HD video chat capability. Also included in the mix are the expected Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, as well as NFC and DLNA support. The PF200 will ride on LTE, GSM, and UMTS carriers.
For those on a tighter budget, the N910 offers a more humble set of hardware specs (and a name that makes it sound a bit like a Nokia). ZTE has toned down several components, from the 1.2GHz processor to the 5MP rear-facing camera. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and DLNA support are still included, but there’s no NFC capability here. The N910 also works on LTE FDD, CDMA, and EVDO networks.
While not expressly specified in the official press release, both these phones feature dual-core processors — meaning the N910 isn’t quite so low-end as it might otherwise appear. ZTE hasn’t revealed pricing, launch dates, or carrier partners for either phone yet, but they’re set to be on display at MWC 2012 in Barcelona. ZTE executive VP He Shiyou said they’ll be “feature products among a wide range of devices” that the company plans to bring to the show.
More at Engadget and Pocket Now
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Amazon rumored to launch 10-inch Kindle Fire sequel by summer
There will be another Amazon tablet coming at some point. You don’t find the success that Amazon has found with the Kindle Fire, and just leave it at that. The biggest questions, then, are: when will it arrive, and how big will it be? A report out of alleged supply chain sources claims to have answers to both of those questions.
China Times is saying that Amazon is planning for the second-generation of its tablet. It says that it will hit production in May or June, followed by a mid-year (end of Q2) release.
The report also drops the bomb that Amazon will be building the second-generation version of the tablet to be profitable. Confused? The Kindle Fire’s initial sale essentially has Amazon breaking even; sales of Amazon’s digital and retail content are where the real profit lies. If this report has legs, though, Amazon will be shifting strategy and moving in a direction that’s more like Apple, (and other tablet manufacturers) for the second-gen Fire.
The report also mentions that it expects a 10-inch version of the Kindle Fire to be coming later this year. We’ve heard this before, but this would also tie in to the shift in profit. If Amazon wants to sell a version of the Kindle Fire that more directly competes with the iPad, it’s going to have a harder time doing so by loading it with Amazon promotional content. That can fly on a $ 200 color e-reader, but a full-sized tablet packed with Amazon content might look ridiculous next to the iPad 3.
Perhaps Amazon intended this all along, and saw the first-generation of the Fire as an “in” to create customer trust and brand recognition. Now that the Kindle Fire has been established, the company is in better position to offer a full tablet experience that competes with the iPad.
Of course this is all rumor and speculation at this point. There will be another Kindle tablet coming along, but that’s all we know for sure. In other words, we wouldn’t hold off on other tablet purchases (like next month’s iPad 3) because of an impending 10-inch Kindle tablet that may not exist.
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