Google Wallet

Google has unveiled Google wallet, digital wallet system, which replaces the traditional card swiping, using NFC technology. Google has partnered with Citibank, Mastercard & retailers to implement this technology. Using mobile phones as a credit card has tremoundous future & several compnaies are in the race for this. Google will get access to huge customer data & this will give Google first mover advantage in this field. Visa is also planning to introduce such digital wallet. It doesnt remove the chains like bank, card processer, retailers & others involved.

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Twitter Buys TweetDeck

Twitter has bought Tweetdeck, the 3rd party app, which helps organize, read & post tweets. TweetDeck is a very popular 3rd party app among the twitter users to post tweets. This would help twitter expand its advertising revenue & also to increase the reach. Rumormill has been going on about the purchase for the last few months & also Uber media was in the race to acquire the app. This is based in London & will continue to work fron there after the acquisition. This is a big step for Twitter as it tries to consolidate its position. Tweetdeck has a great technology & user interface to use.

Evian Live Young – Viral Video

Angry Birds hits 200 million downloads

Angry birds has hit 200 million downloads. It was first available on Apple ios & then has been extended to cover most of the platforms available. Today installed it on Chrome OS & played it. Really addictive & entertaining. Has been downloaded much on Apple devices. This is designde by a finnish company Rovio. They are even planning to merchandise the games. Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons and Angry Birds Rio are the different games versions & is available on major smartphone platforms, consoles, PC and Mac. Merchandise is also selling in great numbers.

Ovi stores to become Nokia services

Nokia’s Ovi store is all set for a rebranding exercise. It will be called as Nokia services. Nokia maps, Nokia apps & others. This is good move by Nokia as it aligns with a greater branding. Nokia recently decided to use Windows mobile OS & also to drop symbian OS. Nokia has a great brand image & equity & rebranding exercise will help it compete with Apple, Google andorid & other smartphone makers. This rebranding will help Nokia concentrate on one brand & move up the brand value chain.

Will it Blend ? – Apple iPad Viral Video

Microsoft to Buy Skype

Microsoft will acquire Skype for $8.5 billion. This will help microsoft move into both consumer & enterprise video and voice communications. Both google & facebook were also in the race to acquire Skype. Skype has 170 million connected users. Skype will support Microsoft devices like Xbox and Kinect & many windows devices. This has become a top topic in the blogosphere. This will help microsoft to move into new market areas & also to fight competation against facebook, apple, google & others. This is the largest MS deal.

2011 Most Valuable Global Brands – Apple, Google, IBM & others

Apple has edged out google to become the world’s most valuable global brand. The report has been done by Millward Brown’s 2011 BrandZ study. Google has held the spot for the last 4 years. With the rising sales of ipad, iphone & others, Apple has topped the chart. Amazon has overtaken Walmart to become the top retail brand. Toyota which was hit by recalls last year has bounced back in the rankings list. Others in the list include Sony, nokia, Tesco, facebook & others. Facebook has had the highest growth for any brand. Complete list can be found at millwardbrown website.

Google Chrome Ads – Dear Sophie & It gets Better

Google has launched ads on TV for its chrome browser. Chrome browser has been growing since its launch. The ads would be running on various TV networks. Using the results from google’s placement-targeted ads on the Google Content Network, Google TV Ad campaigns have been developed. The ad tells a true story & names have been changed. Dear sophie & it gets better are the 2 ads which have been launched.

Death of Osama Bin Laden & the role of Social Media

Osama Bin laden’s death has established the role of social media as the top news sharing source. As the news of death spread, twitter, facebook, youtube & others were flooded with the comments. The death news first came on Twitter, where a person from Abbotabad, was live tweeting the attack. Pages have been created in Facebook about Osama’s death & neitizens are discussing about the attack. Pics of Obama watching the attack in Whote house have been uploaded in Flickr & has been viewed thousands of times. Videos of clippings has been uploade to youtube. As CNN broke the Iraq war during 90’s on TV, twitter played a role in spreading the news of his death.