Monday, February 7, 2011
What’s Better Than One Screen? Two! Sprint Unveils Kyocera Echo.
Ahead of Apple’s iPhone launch on Verizon later this week, Sprint unveiled the Kyocera Echo, a dual-touchscreen smartphone. The Android phone, which looks a lot like a Nintendo DS, is being positioned against tablets because of better multitasking capabilities. It allows people to watch videos on one display while browsing on another. The Echo will be available this spring for $200 with a new contract. Monthly plans start at $80 for unlimited text, talk and data.
Seattle-based Lockerz is trying to build an all-new e-commerce experience for Generation Z. Here’s how it plans to do that using techniques from FarmVille and Facebook.
Seattle-based Thoughtful is launching a mobile application that feeds off the stereotype of men who forget to buy presents or don’t know what to buy–and it’s just in time for Valentine’s Day.
Google appears to be entering the daily deals business on its own after Groupon rejected its jaw-dropping $6 billion buyout offer.
Microsoft’s Xbox dominated the charts at the end of 2010, despite year-over-year revenue declines for both videogame hardware and software.
One of the problems with ordering clothing online is not knowing whether it will fit or look good. EBay has a technology fix for that using augmented reality on the mobile phone. Now you will never have to go to the mall!
SCVNGR has raised $15 million more in venture capital to continue building a mobile app that is part Foursquare and part FarmVille.
Google isn’t hooking up with Groupon, but Amazon has bet $175 million on LivingSocial, Groupon’s social shopping competitor. CEO Tim O’Shaughnessy tells us what he’s going to do with the money.
Zynga will launch its popular Facebook game Mafia Wars for Android later this month, opening it up to the smartphone platform that is now activating 300,000 new customers a day.
Spotify’s Daniel Ek, who heads up the most talked about streaming music service in Europe, continues to promise a U.S. launch this year. With three weeks left, will the Swedish entrepreneur keep his promise? Look at Ek’s interview with MediaMemo’s own Peter Kafka from D: Dive Into Mobile after the jump.
Cities are always more congested. Last week, Zynga proved that even more with the launch of CityVille, its latest social game, which follows other big–and more rural hits–like FrontierVille and FarmVille. In just 24 hours, more than 290,000 people moved over to the big city, besting Zynga’s biggest game launch–FrontierVille. 
Google is beefing up its voice services with today’s acquisition of Cambridge, England-based Phonetic Arts. Google’s view is that voice will be critical going forward to making mobile devices with small screens and keyboards more useful. 
