"apps" articles

Facebook Messenger and Skype are the most popular messaging apps in the U.S., with 53% of messaging app users using Facebook Messenger and 45% using Skype, according to new research that Parks Associates released today . The research also shows: Smartphone penetration has exceed 75% of U.S. broadband households. Global OTT messaging volume will grow from 10 trillion messages in 2013 to nearly 67 trillion messages in 2018. Global text messaging volume...

Alongside the headline-grabbing Apple Watch and the new, improved, and enlarged iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, comes the most eagerly-awaited news for those in the payments and retail space: Apple Pay. Apple has sat aside and watched while major competitors got a several-years-long jump on the mobile payments marketplace, only to founder and generate very little traction. As is its custom, Apple strategically assembled all necessary pieces of its planned product first and then waited for...

In its earnings call last week, Starbucks announced it now counts more than 12 million monthly active users of its My Starbucks Rewards app - a solid 20% growth in active users from 10 million just over a year ago (April 2013). The My Starbucks Rewards app is both a loyalty program and a digital wallet that allows users to store value in the app and pay at check-out by displaying a barcode on the smartphone screen. Transactions made via the mobile wallet now account for 15% of all...

In the past week, Google and Apple have both extended their efforts to penetrate yet another connected consumer platform – vehicles. Apple announced nine new auto manufacturers that have committed to integrating Apple’s CarPlay product into at least some forthcoming vehicle models, and Google unveiled its competing Android Auto product at the Google I/O conference. Both CarPlay and Android Auto allow drivers to access and control select smartphone apps and services through the...

Yesterday’s much anticipated launch of Amazon’s first smartphone named “Fire,” lived up to its pre-launch hype in many ways. The event showcased a smartphone with an impressive array of features and technology. How well these features work in practice remains to be seen, but it is a bold attempt by Amazon to make its first smartphone hold its own against some stiff competition at the higher end of the smartphone market. While many of the features are not surprising, and, in...

Companies are waging platform wars on a variety of fronts: digital media and apps, social networking and messaging, commerce and advertising, payment and artificial intelligence. Each player is fighting hard because it knows each new product and feature, each device iteration and software upgrade, along with related content and service updates, are critical to the end user's experience. The richer the experience, the higher the value a company can earn from its loyalists. But how...

Powered by BrightLine ’s interactive TV and advertising technology, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts released a branded smart TV app  available on Samsung and LG smart TV sets. The app allows consumers to check out Disney theme parks and vacation packages right from their living room, on the big screen. The app offers a wealth of information, including videos, photographs, and interactive maps of Disney theme parks and resort properties. The app also includes...

Another day, another major investment in a messaging app brand. Alibaba announced that it led a group of investors in a $280 million funding round in Tango, a mobile messaging app maker with about 200 million users globally. Alibaba alone contributed $215 million for a minority stake around 20-25%, which puts the valuation of Tango north of $1 billion. This is the continuation of intense market interest in messaging solutions since mid-2013. Before Facebook snatched WhatsApp, Genband...