Author: Chris Crum

HP Unveils New Touch Notebook and Some New Minis

HP unveiled a few new mobile devices today at CES. These include a new TouchSmart notebook, and a handful of minis.

The HP TouchSmart tm2 builds on HP’s existing TouchSmart software, and updates the tx2. "With the convertible tm2, customers can choose the product configuration and input method that is most comfortable and natural, whether on a couch, in an airplane or while surfing the web," the company says. "As a traditional notebook, the tm2 offers a keyboard and touch-enabled display for input. Converted to a slate, the tm2 morphs into a sketchpad with digital pen, allowing artists to sketch on the go and students to take notes in class."

HP lists the following new touch applications that enhance the tm2 experience:

– BumpTop, a touch-enhanced 3-D interface for photos and documents that allows users to spatially organize and “toss” or share files and photos to social media sites or email.

– DigiFish Dolphin, an interactive 3-D screensaver that recreates an ocean environment to be experienced via touch or a mouse.

– Corel Paint it! Touch, which allows users to draw and paint or turn photos into paintings using fingertips.

More details about the TouchSmart tm2 can be found here.

The HP Mini 5102 is described as a "full-performance "netbook designed for mobile professionals and students. It comes in either a standard or touch-enabled version. The touchscreen option includes multitouch gestures, finger taps, and swipes across the screen for navigation. More can be read about this here.

Finally, unveiled the HP Mini 210 and HP Mini 2102, with optional 3G broadband connectivity and GPS in multiple color options. HP says new software enhances the HP Mini 210’s multimedia experience:

– HP CloudDrive powered by ZumoDrive allows users to access their synchronized content – documents, photos and music – from the cloud, without having to store it on a local drive.

– HP MediaStream allows users to stream multimedia content from one PC to another over the Internet, without requiring data to be downloaded.

– HP QuickSync software, also available on the HP Mini 2102, automatically synchronizes files created or edited on the road with a home or business PC over a wireless connection when connected to the same network.

– HP QuickWeb allows users to access the web without booting up the notebook by simply pushing a button. In seconds, users have a connection to the Internet and can access websites and other content that normally requires a standard browser, as well as photos, music and more.

More details about the Mini 210 and Mini 2102 can be found here.

The HP TouchSmart tm2 is expected to be available in the US on Jan. 17 in all colors with a starting price of $949. The HP Mini 5102 is expected to be available in the US this month with a starting price of $399. The HP Mini 210 is expected to be available in the US tomorrow with a starting price of $299 for Windows 7.The HP Mini 2102 is also expected to be available in the US tomorrow with a starting price of $329.

Watch for more WebProNews coverage of CES, with exclusive video interviews coming soon.

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> CES About to Kick Off the Year in Technology

> Cisco Leaving a Big Mark on Consumer Electronics Show

> Looking Back on CES

January 6, 2010
Cisco Showcases Big Video Plans

Cisco has quite a large presence at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this year. The company is showcasing some interesting new video experiences at the event.

Today Cisco announced new customers, features, and professional service options for the Cisco Eos social entertainment platform. The company also announced that it is providing a medianet (a media-aware IP video network infrastructure) to NBC during the network’s coverage of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Winter Games, February 12-28.

"Video is rapidly expanding from a lean-back experience confined to the living room, to a new breed of exciting video experiences available on any device or screen — anytime, anywhere," said Ned Hooper, chief strategy officer and senior vice president, Consumer Business at Cisco. "The network is the platform to make this happen, and as a result, we are enabling new experiences that allow consumers to easily capture and share their lives and connect with the people and content that matter most to them."

Cisco also announced today its data for Flip Video obtained during the 2009 holiday season, which highlights huge growth in video usage over the past year. The company says, "There were more than one million Flip Videos uploaded through FlipShare software in December 2009. These uploads represent three million minutes of Flip videos viewed, which is equivalent to more than six years of continuous video streaming, representing an increase of 395% from December the year before. In addition, there were 42,000 gigabytes of video streamed in December, up from 525% the year prior, indicating an increase in HD video usage."

Cisco says it will be sharing its vision and progress towards developing an "entirely new category" of video communication called “home telepresence”, while at CES. This uses consumers’ existing HDTV and broadband connection to deliver a unique natural video communication experience from the living room, according to the company.

"With Cisco’s best-in-class telepresence technology and networks such as Verizon’s advanced, all-fiber-optic network, we believe we will deliver a video communication experience to consumers unlike anything they’ve seen before," said Marthin DeBeer, senior vice president and general manager for Cisco’s Emerging Technologies group. "Home telepresence will make a difference in consumers’ lives by allowing them to enjoy natural video communications with family and friends wherever they are located. To ensure that early home telepresence users will have plenty of friends and family to communicate with, in addition to calling other home telepresence users, they will be able to place calls to PCs using a webcam and video chat service."

More details about Cisco’s announcements can be found here and here.

Watch for more WebProNews coverage of CES, with exclusive video interviews coming soon.

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> CES About to Kick Off the Year in Technology

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January 6, 2010
CES About to Kick Off the Year in Technology

The Consumer Electronics Association is hosting the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, and WebProNews will be there to provide coverage. Last year we came away with about 25 video interviews and product demos. This year, our entire video crew will be out there, so expect a lot of good stuff.

Look for a lot of new innovations in mobile, television, cars, and apps. There will no doubt be a lot of cool things unveiled.

As usual, there will be quite a few celebrities in attendance at the event. This year, a guest might bump into Stan Lee, Drew Carey, James Worthy, Chris Mullin, or Methods of Mayhem’s Tommy Lee. A full list is here.

Keynotes will be delivered by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, CEA President and CEO Gary Shapiro, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally, Intel President and CEO Paul Otellini, Nokia President and CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, Qualcomm Chairman and CEO Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, and Hisense Chairman Zhou Houjian.

There will be many, many exhibitors such as Adobe, AMD, Cisco, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Ford Motor Company, Garmin, Intel, Kia Motors, Kodak, LG Electronics, Marvel, Microsoft, Monster, MOtorola, Opera, Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, Sanyo, Sprint, Taser, and lots more.

The nearly 400-page directory for the event gives you a pretty good idea about the breadth of information and technology that will be covered at this enormous event.

You can find some of our past CES coverage here (articles). Our video coverage can be found here.

Related Articles:

> Scoble on TV Experience and CES

> The Truth About CES

> Looking Back on CES

January 6, 2010
Google Shares Proposal for White Spaces Database

Last night, Google announced that it filed a submission to the FCC, asking it to designate Google as one of potentially several administrators of a "white spaces" geolocation database. Back in November of 2008, the FCC approved the use of these White Spaces, or unused airwaves between broadcast TV channels, for public wireless broadband service.

On Google’s Public Policy Blog, Richard Whitt, Washington Telecom and Media Counsel, writes:

When the FCC voted to open the white spaces to unlicensed use in November 2008, it required that such a database be deployed before consumer electronics companies could start selling PCs, smartphones, e-book readers or other devices that used this spectrum. Before sending or receiving data, these devices will be required to connect to the database to determine what frequencies can and can’t be used in a particular location. Licensed television and wireless microphone signals will be fully protected from harmful interference.

Why are we offering to do this? We continue to be big believers in the potential for this spectrum to revolutionize wireless broadband, and we think it’s important for us to step forward and offer our assistance to make that vision a reality. Since launching the White Spaces Database Group last February, we’ve been working with other stakeholders to exchange ideas and perspectives on how to best operate a working database, and we believe we’re in a strong position to build and successfully manage one.

Google proposes to build a database to be publicly accessible and searchable, so anyone could access and review the data. The proposal has been provided in full:

01-04-10 Google White Spaces Database Proposal

Google says it anticipates that the FCC will accept comments on various database proposals, and expects the Commission to make a final destination sometime in the spring.

Related Articles:

> White Spaces Officially Cleared For Wireless Broadband

> Google Sees White Spaces Filling With Internet

> Google, Verizon Weigh In On White Space Test

January 6, 2010
Are Google’s Ads So Relevant That People Won’t Block Them?

A while back, Google launched an extensions gallery for its Chrome web browser. Ad-blocking add-ons are among the most popular for Mozilla’s Firefox, so it stands to reason that they will be for Chrome as well. With Google’s primary source of revenue being its ads, a lot of talk has surfaced about Google letting people block its own ads with its own product.

Is Google was smart to allow ad-blocking extensions for Chrome? Discuss here.

A recent article from the New York Times has elevated the discussion, calling the allowance of ad blockers a "test" for Google.

Google wants people to use Chrome. For that to happen, it has to give people what they want. One point of view would be that the people who are most likely to block ads would just as use another browser that allowed them to do so if Chrome didn’t.

Google doesn’t think that ad blockers will have much of an impact on advertising anyway. In December, Google Engineering Director Linus Upson participated in a panel discussion about the subject. He, Charles McCathieNevile of Opera, and Mike Shaver of Mozilla discuss it in the following clip:

Add-on-Con ’09 ads and adblockers (closing keynote) from Robert on Vimeo.

Upson says it’s "unlikely ad blockers are going to get to the level where they imperil the advertising market, because if advertising is so annoying that a large segment of the population wants to block it, then advertising should get less annoying." He thinks the market will sort it out. The others appear to take similar stances.

The real question is how many people are really going to make the effort to block ads? As Wladimir Palant, who runs Adblock Plus on Firefox, told the NYT, ad blockers are still used by a "tiny proportion of the Internet population, and these aren’t the kind of people susceptible to ads anyway."

Based on what Upton had to say in the panel discussion, Google is pretty confident that it can deliver ads people actually want, and that people (for the most part) will not want to block them if they see that relevance.

What could hurt Google more is if Microsoft or Firefox implemented their own ad blocking capabilities by default. This would lead to average users browsing an ad-less web, because just as most people don’t go out of their way to download ad-blocking add-ons, they are unlikely to go out of their way to allow ads in such a scenario. However, it is pretty unlikely that this will happen, particularly on Microsoft’s end. They of course have their own ads to worry about.

If ad-blocking from the browser actually did become a big problem for Google, one would have to wonder if the company woulnd’t find some kind of work-around. For example, what would stop them from serving ads directly in the Chrome Browser itself (in a toolbar area for example)? One could envision sponsored link-style ads like those served via Gmail. With Google’s interest-based advertising, relevance would still be at the forefront. But it probably won’t come to that anytime soon (at least not as a solution to the perceived issue).

Wondering how many people actually use Chrome anyway? Ad-blocking from the browser does after all only matter if people are using that browser. Well, the latest numbers from Net Applications have Chrome’s market share surpassing that of Apple’s Safari browser. It’s worth noting that Google just released Chrome for Mac last month as well.

As Doug Caverly mentioned, "Chrome’s only been around for about 16 months, after all, and Safari’s had something like six years to make friends."

Google’s Chrome OS is set to make things interesting later this year, as well. Chrome use is growing and will continue to do. Ad campaigns from Google may ease that growth along.

Google made a bold move when it opened up its extensions gallery, allowing for ad-blocking extensions. Could this turn out to be a huge mistake on the company’s part or is Google’s confidence completely justified? Only time will tell for certain, but Google has long stood behind the promise of trying to deliver the best user experience. If users want to block ads, Google is going to let them. Share your thoughts here.

Related Articles:

> Chrome Cruises By Safari

> Chrome Ad Campaign Nets Positive Results

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January 5, 2010
Google’s One-Minute Guide to Search-Based Keywords

Google has put together a one-minute guide to using its Search-based Keyword tool. The tool was launched just over a year ago in beta. It lets paid search advertisers see what keywords they may be missing out on based on searches on their site.

"Millions of people use Google each day to find products and services by searching on various keywords," says Dan Friedman of Google’s Inside AdWords Crew. "This means that by including all keywords that are relevant to your product or service in your campaigns, you can ensure you can ensure that you will reach a greater set of potential customers. To help you do this, you can use the Search-based Keyword Tool to quickly identify relevant keywords which aren’t yet included in your AdWords campaigns."

The guide follows:

Earlier this year, Google made some improvements to the search-based keyword tool. The company not only expanded the reach to Australia, Canada, China, Japan, and New Zealand in addition to the US and the UK, but users can also now select the currency they’d like to see suggested bids in on the setting page.

Google also added some customization features to the tool this year that could lead to more targeted results for users. These include language/country-specific results and ad/search share filters.

Related Articles:

> Google Improves Search-Based Keyword Tool

> Google Launches Search-Based Keyword Tool

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January 5, 2010
Google Unveils Nexus One “Super Phone”

Update 3: Google is now advertising the Nexus One on its homepage.

Update 2: They have also posted a video showing Google Maps on the Nexus One:

Update: Google has posted a couple of videos that show how YouTube and Gmail work on the new Nexus One phone. Watch them below.

Original Article: At the Android Press Event today, Google finally unveiled its much-anticipated phone, the Nexus One, which the company says belongs to a new category of phones called "super phones." Details have been leaking about the phone for quite some time now, but Google is now demonstrating what it can do. The Nexus One is of course designed in partnership with HTC.

From the event, Google discussed and demonstrated the following features of the Nexus One:

– 1 Ghz processor
– Android 2.1
– Thin and light
– Compass
– GPS
– accelerometer
– light and proximity sensor.
– 3.7-inch AMOLED display
– multi-color notification LED under the trackball.
– 5 megapixel camera with LED flash
– Stereo bluetooth and 3.5mm headphone jack.
– Active noise suppression (one on bottom, one on the back)
– Google Maps Navigation for turn-by-turn
– Facebook integration
– Quick Contacts
– Customization of software (home screen panels)
– New widgets for news and weather
– live wallpaper
– 3D app launcher
– voice to text for all text fields (email, tweets, etc.)

The full specs page can be found here, and there is a 3-D tour of the phone here.

Customers can buy the phone without service through Google’s own store and insert their own SIM card. It includes a Nexus One phone case, wall charger, and USB cable (as well as free shipping in the continental US). It’s available from T-Mobile with a 2-year contract for eligible customers. It’s coming to Verizon and Vodafone in the Spring.

Related Articles:

> Google Phone Excitement Builds Ahead Of Jan. 5 Event

> New Google Phone Has Tech Community Licking Chops

> Google Phone and Music Service Both on the Way?

January 5, 2010
Apple Acquiring AdMob Competitor Quattro Wireless

Update: The acquisition has been confirmed, and competitor AdMob issued the following statement:

"We believe that Apple’s proposed acquisition of Quattro serves as yet another validation of the vibrant mobile advertising industry and can help accelerate the pace of innovation and competition in this space."

Original Article: Apple is reportedly set to acquire Quattro Wireless for $275 million. This is according to the generally reliable Kara Swisher of BoomTown, who claims to have the information confirmed by several sources.

Quattro Wireless is a mobile ad network similar to AdMob, which is in the process of being acquired by Google. Reports suggest that Apple was in the running for Admob, but was outbid, so the next logical step was to seek a competitor to stay competitive with Google in this market.

The $275 million price tag is much smaller than what Google paid for AdMob ($750 million), but Quattro is considerably smaller. However, they both directly deal in advertising on smartphones, a market both Google and Apple are heavily competing in.

Google’s latest iPhone competitor, the Nexus One is scheduled to be unveiled today. You can read a bit more about that here.

According to Swisher, the official announcement about Apple’s acquisition of Quattro could come as early as today, but this has not been confirmed. Quattro is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. It counts Ford, Disney, and the NFL among its clients.

Related Articles:

> Consumer Groups Ask FTC To Block Google AdMob Deal

> Google Provides an Update on the AdMob Acquisition

> Google Buys Mobile Ad Firm For $750 Million In Stock<

January 5, 2010
Top 15 Things You Loved to Talk About in 2009

Just as we did at the end of 2008, we have gone back through our entire archive for the year 2009 and picked out the articles that received the most conversation from our readers. As we approach the new year, we thought it would be fun to go back and reflect on some of the things that got people talking in the one that’s wrapping up.

Note: Please keep in mind that some of the articles are a bit outdated now as new developments have occurred throughout the year.

1. eBay Wants its Sellers Back

This article received the most commentary by far from WebProNews readers out of every article we produced this year.

2. Top 10 Frustrations for eBay Sellers

Another article on a related subject was also discussed frequently.

3. Does DMOZ Still Have a Place in Search?

Indicating that DMOZ is still definitely a topic worthy of discussion, DMOZ’s value was debated thoroughly in the comments on this article.

4. Do You Respect DMOZ After 11 Years?

DMOZ was also a hot topic after the company had its 11th birthday. It was quite interesting to find out what people thought after 11 years of the directory’s existence.

5. eBay Competitor Bonanzle Continues Big-Time Growth

As was made clear in a number of eBay articles we ran, a lot of users of that site were not very happy. Competitors took advantage. This was a look at the success of one competitor in particular.

6. House Says Bloggers Don’t Count As Journalists

The bloggers vs. journalists debate is always a hot one. Of course when the government gets involved with that debate, some heavy commentary will ensue.

7. Apple Fans Respond To The "Droid Does" Advertising Campaign

Apple fans love to talk. So do Apple haters. That point was very clear in the comments we received on this article.

8. Netbooks: Moving in Right Next Door to Useless

Mike ruffled some feathers with his criticism of the Netbook phenomenon. Although he certainly had plenty who agreed with his views.

9. Can eBay Win Back Sellers with a Shift in Focus?

eBay sparked some interest yet again when it announced its focus on the "secondary market".

10. eBay Unleashes Changes Galore for Sellers

Any time eBay makes changes that affect sellers, you can pretty much guarantee that people are going to talk.

11. Is MySpace Toast?

MySpace’s future is discussed as Facebook takes over as the dominant social network.

12. Google: Page Speed May Become a Ranking Factor in 2010

Google’s Matt Cutts dropped a hint that page speed may be considered as a ranking factor by the search engine soon. Some think this is a great idea, others think it’s horrible.

13. The AP’s Desperate Attempt To Outlaw Search Engine Links

A discussion about the Associated Press and fair use of content.

14. Murdoch On Blocking Search Engines: "I Think We Will"

News Corp. CEO Murdoch said some interesting things about how it plans to distribute its content in the future. This is still a hot topic.

15. Shocker: Facebookers Not Happy With Redesign

I’m sure you recall the big Facebook redesign. A lot of people are still bitter about it.

Looking back at some of these articles, it’s hard to believe they’ve all come from just this year. It’s amazing how much has happened in search, e-commerce, and social media. The rate at which everything changes and evolves is really quite astounding. I guess that can be attributed to the real-time nature in which we consume information now, and the sheer amount of content that is poured onto the web every minute of every day.

To get an idea of what I mean, just go to any of our tag pages and look back through our coverage of any given topic. Go to the Google tag, for example, and look at the enormous amount of things Google has been a part of this year alone.

Share your thoughts about 2009 here…

January 5, 2010
Google Gives Alex Over a Million Books

Spring Design, the makers of the Alex eReader device, announced it has entered into an agreement with Google, which will see it gaining access to over a million Google Books. Alex users will be able to read these books online or download them using the Android-integrated browser and search applications.

"We are pleased to work with Spring Design and the Alex, which is an exciting new reading device, that combined with a wealth of free public domain books from Google, provides great value to eReaders," said Google Product Manager, Brandon Badger. "Our relationship with Spring Design is helping to expand the number of ways people access eBooks and search for information online, whether for business, education or entertainment."

"Our agreement and strategic alliance with Google opens the doors to more readers around the world," said Dr. Priscilla Lu, CEO of Spring Design. "We are excited to be part of Google’s initiative to digitize and deliver the world’s books and look forward to the markets and opportunities these efforts will open up for readers as well as independent authors."

Alex users can access the Internet to search and read eBooks, while simultaneously browsing the web in full color. Users can click links within eBooks that lead to relevant web-based information or multimedia content found online. EPUB digital books can be searched and downloaded using Google API apps.

Spring Design proclaims that Alex is the first and only open Google Android-based eReader platform with full featured Internet browsing, WiFi connectivity, audio and video playback and image viewing in popular formats, and the ability to run a growing number of Google Android Applications.

Financial details of Google’s agreement with Spring Design were not made available.

Related Articles:

> Google Books Suffers Defeat In French Court

> Revised Google Books Settlement Still Has Critics

> Google Shares New Privacy Policy for Books

January 5, 2010
Opera CEO Steps Down, Immediately Replaced

Jon von Tetzchner has stepped down as CEO of Opera, though he will remain with the company full-time in a "strategic and independent" capacity. Opera has appointed Lars Boilesen to take his place as CEO.

Jon von Tetzchner co-founded the company fifteen years ago. Boilesen has held executive positions at Alcatel-Lucent where he was CEO for the Nordics and the Baltics. He has also served at Opera Software where he was Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, from 2000 to 2005. A year ago, he rejoined Opera as Chief Commercial Officer, and has served on the company’s Board of Directors as Vice Chairman.

"Lars Boilesen brings both a very significant industry experience and a deep understanding of Opera to the role as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. In short, Opera’s spirit runs through his veins," says Jon von Tetzchner. "My decision to assume a new role in Opera is based on a lengthy consideration process. As outgoing Chief Executive, I leave confident in the company’s continued leadership in key markets, our strong management team, our ongoing commitment to innovation, and our robust financial foundation."

"I was very happy about convincing Lars to come back to Opera one year ago. Today, I am very excited about asking him to take over as CEO as we continue our growth and global expansion. We have worked closely together for many years and I am certain that he is the right person to lead Opera into a very bright future," added von Tetzchner.

"I am impressed with what Opera has achieved under Jon’s leadership," says Boilesen. "We provide browser technology not only to nearly 100 million consumers worldwide, but also to the major players in the industry: Vodafone, T-Mobile, Nintendo, KDDI, SKT, Nokia, Samsung, Toshiba and Sony Ericsson to name but a few. Our focus going forward is to execute on our current strategy and continue to deliver the best browser experience to the breadth of our customer and user base."

Opera says Boilesen played a crucial role in transforming Opera from a desktop browser vendor into a leader in cross-platform browsing.

Related Articles:

> Opera Turbo Sees 60% User Growth in One Month

> 40 Million Reasons You Need a Mobile Web Presence

> Opera Releases Latest Version of Popular Mobile Browser

January 5, 2010
More Media/Ad Trend Predictions for 2010

In a recent article, we looked at some predictions from Nielsen for advertising trends in 2010. These included optimizing media convergence being a top priority, new models emerging to take advantage of smartphones, more cross-media ad campaigns, an increase in commercialization of social networking hubs, and more interesting and interactive online ads.

A representative for Cross MediaWorks sent us some predictions for media, advertising and content trends in 2010 from that firm as well, that are worth sharing. These come from CEO Marc Krigsman (formerly EVP of Primedia Digital Video) and COO Larry Rubin (formerly SVP, Business Development, USA Networks and Vice President, Associate General Counsel – Transactions, Viacom).

1. An improvement in ad spending in 2010, especially by the automotive, financial, and healthcare industries. However, spending will not return to pre-downturn levels. Overall, they think it will be a conservative year with conservative growth as companies concentrate on fine tuning their messages.

2. There will [be] more emphasis on measurement of performance in 2010 with data being incorporated from other areas such as shopping carts, social media, and credit-card data.

3. Advertising on both broadcast and cable television will remain the most cost-effective option for advertisers; viewership for both will continue to increase in 2010.

4. Spending on online and mobile will not get ahead of television for at least eight to ten years.

5. Smartphones like the iPhone will continue to pave the way for content platforms to emerge that will drive more users to mobile sites; however, what is considered a valuable mobile ad will remain undefined until that happens.

6. In the coming year, there will be a greater emphasis on "active eyeballs" as opposed to "passive eyeballs" with regards to online advertising and online ads will get more visual, [and] include multimedia.

7. Video content available online will have to move to a subscription model or one with more advertising as media comes at a cost. In television’s early days, for example, entire programs were paid for by an advertiser like "Texaco Star Theater."

8. The Web can’t yet deliver a video product comparable to HD and the top-trafficked Web sites are informational; consumers continue to go to the Internet to look for information about their bank, their phones, etc.

While we’re no the subject of predictions about trends for 2010, let’s not overlook a recent survey by Silverpop, which found that 40% of email marketers plan on increasing their budgets for the channel in 2010 and 47% said their budgets would stay the same.

Related Articles:

> Nielsen Shares Predictions for Advertising Trends in 2010

> Email Marketing Budgets Set For Increase In 2010

> Online Video Viewing Continues To Boom

January 5, 2010
ChaCha Closes $7 Million Round of Funding

Answers service ChaCha announced today that it has closed a $7 million E round of funding. The service lets users go online, call, or text questions on mobile phones and receive answers "within minutes" for free. The service has an iPhone app and lets people ask questions via Twitter as well.

This round of funding might be particularly significant for the company. "We believe this latest round provides ChaCha the cash required to reach profitability," says CEO Scott A. Jones.

Over the past four years, since its inception, ChaCha has raised about $52 million from prominent tech leaders, venture capitalists, and angel investors. The company says its text service passed Google in mobile text traffic in Q3 2009. According to ChaCha, when the company’s mobile service launched in January 2008, Google SMS had nearly 100% of he mobile text search market, but ChaCha now has more text traffic, coming from users mostly under the age of 25.

That may be why ChaCha is considering itself the "#1 way for advertisers to reach teens and young adults on their mobile phones."

"Given that we started our mobile text service less than 2 years ago, that also makes us the fastest-growing mobile text service that provides advertisers with a way to reach elusive teens and young adults," says Jones. " We have been monetizing from national brands and local businesses who want to be ‘in the conversation.’ We have provided a successful advertising venue for brands, including The CW Network, IKEA, Paramount Pictures, McDonald’s, Palm, Coca Cola, AT&T, J&J, P&G, Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and hundreds of other businesses."

"ChaCha acts as a ‘smart friend’ to answer any question via text (or voice, iPhone, or twitter), particularly from college-age and high school-age students," adds Mr. Jones. "While many headlines frequently report ‘mobile web’ search traffic stats, the reality is that ‘smart phones’ represent less than 20% of phones that are in users’ hands today (iPhones represent about 6%). For the vast majority of mobile phone users, the common denominator of texting, which works on virtually all phones, is the more universal way to get answers. Interestingly, our new iPhone app gets MORE engagement from users than our mobile text service, which leads us to believe that ChaCha will be even more successful as smart phones (iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, etc…) continue to proliferate."

Between its mobile and online services, ChaCha has answered over 300 million questions in the past two years. The company cites data from Quantcast, which indicate it gets over 10 million unique monthly visitors in the US.

Related Articles:

> Need Answers? Text ChaCha!

> ChaCha Gets Extra-Important $10M In Funding

> ChaCha Receives $6 Million To Keep Dancing

January 4, 2010
Ping.fm Acquired by Seesmic

Seesmic announced today that it has acquired Ping.fm. This is a service that has half a million active users posting daily from various devices by sending email, text messages, and chat.

"Ping.fm is compatible with every single Internet device in the world, which why it has become so successful among thousands of users," says Seesmic. "Try using chat to update Twitter, and you’ll find it direct and seamless as you can post updates from gtalk, aim or skype through Ping.fm. It’s so simple and amazing, and it’s always on."

Social Networks that Ping.fm supports:

"Thanks to its powerful and simple API, more than a hundred applications already use Ping.fm to update all the main social networks and Seesmic commits to maintaining and improving the Ping.fm platform," says Seesmic. "Not only has Twhirl supported Ping.fm for about a year, but we are also preparing to open Seesmic apps with our own plug-in architecture so we understand and care about the developer community."

A list of apps that support Ping.fm can be found here.

Seesmic says that Seesmic applications on Blackberry, Android, Web, Windows and OSX via Air will all have advanced Ping.fm integration "very shortly," and will instantly support 50 social networks. Users will be able to update not only with the apps they are used to, but also with Ping.fm’s email, sms and chat gateways, the company says.

Seesmic applications have been downloaded over three and a half million times. Financial details about the acquisition have not been made public.

Related Articles:

> Seesmic’s Acquisition of Twhirl

> Seesmic Befriends (And Buys) Twitter Client Twhirl

> Update Your Status Across Dozens of Social Media Sites

January 4, 2010
Some Facebook Users Get New Design

Update: Some Facebook users are reportedly now seeing a new Facebook design that looks like the screenshots here. The design is similiar to the one below, with some slight differences.

Original Article: Reports and screenshots have surfaced indicating possible further design changes to the Facebook home page. These changes would include an altered header with drop-down menus for things like chat, messages, and notifications (Via SAI).

There would also be greater emphasis placed on the search box. It would be moved further to the left, and more into the center of the page. Such emphasis on search would make sense, as Facebook has greater real-time search functionality these days than what it once had (particularly since its acquisition of FriendFeed).

Screenshot from French publication PCInpact.com (they have several more).

Let’s not get too carried away though. These changes are only tests at this point, and may or may not ever see the light of day for Facebook users at the mainstream level.

A Facebook spokesperson tells WebProNews, "We are continually experimenting with new designs on the site that are meant to simplify and improve the user experience. These are just a couple of the many changes we’re testing."

Whenever Facebook makes design changes, there is usually some amount of backlash from users. That doesn’t stop them from continuing to make tweaks, however. In the end, users are likely to get used to or accept the changes either way. I don’t think the world is ready to abandon Facebook for the next big thing just yet.

Do you like what Facebook has been doing with its design so far? Share your thoughts.

Related Articles:

> Facebook Makes Some Changes

> Facebook Redesign Emerges

> Facebook Responds To Users Complaints

January 4, 2010
Will Google Phone Bring Spotify to the US?

Even if you haven’t used Spotify, there’s a good chance you’ve heard of it. The service’s description goes: "A world of music. Millions of songs on your computer, on your mobile and available offline. Brought to you ad free."

People in the US have been unable to use the service so far. There has been talk that this may soon change upon the launch of Google’s Nexus One phone, but this may not happen. There was rumored to be a US Spotify app for Google’s Android ready just in time for the launch of the phone. Michael Arrington reports:

The two companies sketched out a plan where Spotify’s excellent Android application would be build [sic] into the 2.1 version of Android and would launch in the U.S. with the Google Nexus One phone on January 5. The application – which is available in Europe and allows for offline syncing of songs – would give Google a much-needed competitive answer to Apple’s iTunes. The Android could realistically be seen as a media consumption device, like the iPhone, with things like Spotify built into it.

Google wanted Spotify badly enough that they were willing to cover the label costs for every user of $3 – $4 per month. Spotify would add advertising on top of it, as they do with the free version in Europe, to make additional revenue. Without Google paying those label fees there was no way Spotify could handle the costs of the user flow that 2.1 would provide. Currently, European users must pay for Spotify Premium to use the mobile versions of the service.

Those in the US waiting to get their hands on Spotify may have to wait though. Arrington says his sources indicate that the deal has likely "gone cold," but he says there is a chance Spotify could still be part of Google’s Nexus One announcement, slated for Tuesday, January 5.

Such a deal could mean big things for sales of Android devices and really give the iPhone a run for its money. It’s going to be quite interesting to see how the smartphone competition plays out over the course of 2010. This is only the beginning. Even if a deal is not made, Google is clearly interested in the musical side of mobile, and will likely pursue other options.

Related Articles:

> Google Phone Excitement Builds Ahead Of Jan. 5 Event

> Android Crowds iPhone In New comScore Report

> New Google Phone Has Tech Community Licking Chops

January 4, 2010
Twitter Starts the Year with Some New Faces

Just as many of us get back to work after the holidays, Twitter has some new people starting work with the company altogether. Twitter reportedly has ten new people (most starting today), and some of them have interesting backgrounds, which could have interesting implications for the company’s future.

The one new hiring that is drawing the most attention is that of Bakari Brock, who has worked as a lawyer for Google and YouTube, holding the title of Corporate Counsel with both. Silicon Valley blogger Louis Gray, who discovered the new additions to Twitter’s staff, notes that Brock was heavily quoted by the media in late 2008 when YouTube was introducing e-commerce capabilities.

Other new additions to Twitter, discovered via Twitter’s Team List, include people with backgrounds with Bebo, Apple, Qik, Ning, TiVo, Cloudera, Ask, VMware, and 23andMe. One of them has also worked at Google in the past.

"Twitter’s pedigree is getting increasingly rich at the expense of Google and other Silicon Valley tech titans," says Gray.

He points out that these are not the only new additions to Twitter. On Decemeber 23, Twitter announced its acquisition of Mixer Labs, the creators of GeoAPI.

Twitter is poised to have a very big year as the company will likely start concentrating more on its own monetization and geo-location capabilities. With new hires with experience at companies like Qik and TiVo, you have to wonder if Twitter has some new video-related ideas in mind as well.

Related Articles:

> Twitter Takes SMS Tweeting To Australia

> Twitter Gets Hacked By "Iranian Cyber Army"

> Most Influential Twitter Users Named

January 4, 2010
Unplugging From Social Media and Getting Social (And Original)

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January 1, 2010