Scvngr becomes first preloaded location-based application

Scvngr, the maker of a check-in app that asks users to complete activity challenges, today announced that it will now come preloaded on the LG Optimus V, the newest prepaid smartphone from Virgin Mobile USA (which is owned by Sprint).

While there’s no exclusivity with Virgin Mobile, the partnership marks the first time a location-based service will be preloaded on a smartphone. Foursquare cofounder Naveen Selvadurai alluded to a preloaded deal with Nokia back in... Continue Reading

YooMee Games enters the crowded tournament games market

There’s no shortage of companies offering tournament game platforms. But YooMee Games is announcing today that it is going after the market with its own unique twist, focusing on casual games that can be played across web sites, social networks and mobile devices.

The company will have a tough time carving out a niche in the market. But it hopes to execute better than others on the combination of tournament play and casual games across... Continue Reading

OpenX upgrades its ad technology, Groupon signs on

Ad company OpenX is announcing a new ad server for publishers today that it says leaves competitors like Google’s DoubleClick far behind.

Chief revenue officer Jason Fairchild said that while he previously considered OpenX’s ad server to be “on par” with the competition, until now it was mainly distinguished by the fact that it was open source.

“Our value proposition was largely that, hey, instead of paying DoubleClick or one of the other guys we’re... Continue Reading

Microsoft’s Ballmer will clean house even more with pending shake-up (report)

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is expected to keep shaking up his management team, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

Citing two unnamed sources with knowledge of the decision, the publication said that Ballmer may add some senior product executives with engineering backgrounds to his top staff. Last month, Ballmer forced out server division president Bob Muglia, a 23-year company lifer, saying Microsoft needed new leadership in cloud software. Changes may be announced this month.

Microsoft needs... Continue Reading

Whoa: T-mobile to offer all phones free this weekend

No you didn’t misread that title. In a move clearly meant to deflect some attention away from the massive amounts of Verizon iPhone press, T-Mobile announced today that it will offer all of its phones for free on February 11 and 12 — with a new two-year contract, of course.

And when T-Mobile says all of its phones will be free, it’s not kidding. The offer includes current high-end Android phones like the Samsung Vibrant,... Continue Reading

HP ready to launch laptops, but Intel chips are in short supply

Hewlett-Packard is unveiling a bunch of consumer laptops today, but it has no idea when it’s going to ship some of them because they use the flawed Intel chip set that now has to be replaced.

The line-up of new laptops is important for HP’s spring sales, but it isn’t clear exactly how long it will take to get replacement chips. HP, much like every other computer maker, is anxiously awaiting delivery of Intel’s latest... Continue Reading

Mobile cyber threats are getting worse

Malware of all kinds keeps spreading on computing platforms. But mobile malware grew at a particularly fast clip in 2010, according to McAfee.

Mobile malware was up 46 percent in 2010 to 967 threats, compared to 704 in 2009, according to the McAfee Threats Report for the fourth quarter.

That’s small compared to PC threats, but the trend is clear. The renewed interest in attacking mobile platforms comes as smartphones and tablets become a primary... Continue Reading

Picplz’s new features aren’t a business model … yet

If you’ve been wondering how someone can turn a mobile photo application into a real company, well, the answer became a little clearer today with some new features from Picplz.

The company has announced an application programming interface (API) that will allow developers to build apps using Picplz photos. The company released a slideshow app, an embeddable widget for photos, and a photo feed that requires a login as examples of the kind of potential... Continue Reading

Keith Olbermann may be joining Current TV

Keith Olbermann, formerly a popular and controversial host on MSNBC, will announce tomorrow that he’s joining Current TV, according to a report in The New York Times.

Actually, what the Times says is that Olbermann is “said to be going” to Current TV, according to sources who point to “a possible deal”. That’s a lot of waffling, which suggests that the sources are only hearing about the deal secondhand and may not have all the... Continue Reading

Groupon chief tries to explain controversial Super Bowl ads (poll)

As far as chief executives go, Andrew Mason is as informal as they come. But he just posted a serious non-apology on the company’s blog to explain why Groupon ran its Super Bowl ad, which he acknowledged has had a negative overall response.

The Super Bowl commercial started out serious, highlighting the troubles of Tibet’s people and how their culture is in jeopardy. But then it switched from a Timothy Hutton (above right) voice over... Continue Reading

Early Facebook execs back artificial-intelligence startup Vicarious Systems

It looks like several key players from the early days of Facebook have taken an interest in an artificial intelligence startup called Vicarious Systems.

The company, which is based in Union City, Calif., just announced that it has raised its first institutional venture round let by Founders Fund, although it isn’t saying how much money was involved.

Vicarious Systems hasn’t launched yet, but the company said it will be “developing algorithms that mimic the function... Continue Reading

Verizon iPhone teardown reveals chipset for use on AT&T

Verizon’s iPhone 4 contains a chipset that could have enabled it to work on AT&T’s network as well, a teardown by the repair site iFixit revealed.

The finding means that Apple could have created a true world phone by supporting both Verizon and AT&T’s networks in a single device.

IFixit found that the Verizon iPhone 4 uses a Qualcomm MDM6600 chip that supports the carrier’s  CDMA and EVDO network standards, but it also includes support... Continue Reading

Nokia’s E7 smartphone finally starts shipping

After missing the holiday season, Nokia announced today that it has finally started shipping its E7 smartphone to “select markets” this week.

The company delayed the E7 in December, following the launch of its N8 smartphone, which also faced delays of its own.

So now Nokia finally has two flagship smartphones on the market — although at this point, I think the company probably isn’t expecting much from the E7. Nokia CEO Stephen Elop is... Continue Reading

Is AOL’s Huffington Post deal all about women?

Everyone is weighing in on AOL’s decision to acquire The Huffington Post for $315 million. Some argue that the deal makes sense, and plenty more predict that the online-media combination will be a disaster.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the debate is how AOL and Huffington Post executives are describing the thinking behind the deal. The HuffPo, as it’s known, has its roots as a popular, controversial, and left-leaning political blog. But in AOL... Continue Reading

On the GreenBeat: Nissan confirms Leaf delays, McPhy lands hydrogen storage deal

Here’s the latest action we’re following today on the GreenBeat:

Nissan admits to Leaf delays – VentureBeat first reported on expected delays of the all-electric Nissan Leaf last year. Now the automaker has formally acknowledged Leaf delivery delays due to bottlenecks in the quality assurance and distribution process, the Financial Times reports. The company delivered 19 cars to customers in December and 87 last month, and expects delivery issues to ease by April for the... Continue Reading

Android 2.4 coming in April as a bridge to 3.0

If you’re wondering why we’re not seeing more Android smartphones running version 2.3 of the OS like Samsung’s Nexus S, this may be why: Google is apparently prepping its Android 2.4 update for April. And it will likely serve as transition to the major Android 3.0 update, the news site Pocket Lint reports.

Device manufacturer Viewsonic told Pocket Lint that its upcoming ViewPad 4 smartphone will launch with the update in April. A Viewsonic source... Continue Reading

Government to put a $50 million lift in offshore wind’s sails

The U.S. government will be putting $50.5 million to grow offshore wind energy in the U.S., with a goal of deploying 10 gigawatts of offshore capacity by 2020 and 54 gigawatts by 2030.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the initiative today, which aims to spur growth in offshore wind development. It’s an area that has been predicted to be slow in growth, although the government started plugging... Continue Reading

Last.fm Radio goes premium on mobile and home entertainment devices

Bad news for fans of Last.FM’s free mobile apps: the Internet radio company announced today that it’s cutting off the free tunes and making its Radio feature on mobile and home entertainment apps subscriber-only.

The news gives Last.fm’s main competitor, the uber-popular Pandora, a leg up, since it still offers free, ad-supported, music streaming apps.

Even though it relies on ads for its website, Last.fm has found it impractical to pursue that strategy for mobile... Continue Reading