Social networking is exploding in mobile, according to figures released by ABI Research. And Frank Meehan thinks he knows how to capitalize.ABI polled 500 users of online social networks and found that 46% of respondents had used such services from their phones. MySpace and...
Sony Ericsson finally unveiled its response to Nokia Corp.'s Comes With Music service.The company outlined PlayNow plus, a hardware-and-content offering that will bundle as many as 1,000 pre-loaded songs with the purchase of a phone. Buyers will be enrolled in a monthly all-you-can-eat subscription...
SanDisk Corp. is the latest player hoping to elbow its way onto the music-distribution playground.The Milpitas, Calif.-based company announced plans to sell microSD memory cards with preloaded MP3 music files through brick-and-mortar and online retailers including Best Buy and Wal-Mart. SlotMusic, as the effort...
Best Buy Co. Inc. moved more aggressively into the content-distribution arena, agreeing to pay $121 million to pick up the subscription-based online and mobile music company Napster.The big-box retailer said it will pay $2.65 per share in cash for Napster and its 700,000 subscribers....
Electronic Arts Inc. announced a pact to bring "Tomb Raider Underworld" and other Eidos Interactive Ltd. titles to mobile.EA Mobile won wireless rights to "Just Cause 2," "California Games X" and "Minesweeper" in addition to the eighth Tomb Raider game, which is slated for...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Cottle is pimping his ride with eye-catching rims, fancy hood art and those cool hydraulic things that can bounce a car like a basketball at red lights. And he's doing it all with one finger.The SVP and GM of EA...
Zed said it will work with Lionsgate to develop mobile entertainment projects based on the studio's films.The Spanish content titan will help create and distribute mobile video as well as ringtones, wallpaper and games from Lionsgate properties, and will develop wireless interactive communities centered...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Verizon Wireless stoked the white-hot social-networking fire, launching three offerings that allow subscribers to share content and stay in contact with their friends.The carrier yesterday unveiled SocialLife, a $1.50-a-month application that connects users to a host of sites including MySpace, FaithBase,...
SAN FRANCISCO -- Full-track downloads are spinning their wheels and subscription services are falling on deaf ears. So Nokia Corp. and its music-industry partners are hoping music lovers will shell out for devices that come with music.
The Finnish manufacturer-cum-Internet services provider last week...
Nokia Corp. is teaming with The Carphone Warehouse to bring its all-you-can-eat mobile music service to U.K. users next month.Comes With Music, as the effort is branded, packages one year of unlimited downloads with the purchase of a handset. Users will have to pay...
ESPN Inc. unveiled an expansion of its current agreement with Major League Baseball Advanced Media that "covers all new platforms" including online, interactive television and mobile.The Walt Disney Co. subsidiary locked up rights to deliver MLB content through its online and mobile channels, video...
In an industry that constantly looks for the next big thing, ringtones are yesterday's news. But the little snippets of music still generate billions of dollars.Ringtone revenues are on the wane, to be sure: Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) predicts the U.S. market will shrink...
Hands-On Mobile Inc. said it has spun off "the bulk" of its business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa to Connect 2 Media in exchange for a minority stake in the cross-platform game publisher.Connect 2 Media publishes and distributes games for the Internet,...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we'll review a new wireless application or service from the user's point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn't. If you wish to submit your application or...
Editor's Note: Welcome to our weekly Reality Check column. We've gathered a group of visionaries and veterans in the mobile industry to give their insights into the marketplace.Along with every one of my friends in this industry, from entrepreneurs to product managers at carriers,...
Things move quickly in the U.S. mobile entertainment ecosystem - unless you're an adult content vendor.From sex texts to moantones to bikini-clad models to full-on hardcore video, wireless porn is gaining traction in certain markets around the world. Wireless wantonness rang up about $1.7...
