Verizon Wireless to Begin Selling iPhone Next Month

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – Confirming widespread rumors, Verizon Wireless (NYSE:  VZ) on
Tuesday said it will begin selling Apple’s (NASD:  AAPL) iPhone, beginning Feb. 10. Certain
customers will be able to pre-order the iPhone 4 online on Feb. 3. "This
is an important step for the industry as two great companies join forces to
give wireless customers one of the most important technological additions to
the mobile landscape this century," said Lowell McAdam, the president and
COO of Verizon. Verizon will offer a 16GB iPhone 4G for $199 and a 32GB model
for $299, both tied to a two-year service contract.

Until now, AT&T has
served as the exclusive carrier of the device in the U.S.

Analysts estimate
that Verizon could sell 9-12 million iPhones this year, after AT&T sold an
estimated 14.5 million in 2010.

One feature that the Verizon iPhone will offer
that AT&T’s does not is the ability to use the smartphone as mobile
hotspot, allowing up to five computers or wireless devices to share its signal.

Bloomberg cited analysts who estimated that Verizon may spend $3 billion to $5
billion to subsidize the cost of the iPhone for its subscribers this year,
paying somewhere between $350 and $400 per iPhone customer.

 

 

Related Links:
http://investor.verizon.com/news/view.aspx?NewsID=1103

http://tinyurl.com/4k49xfc
(Bloomberg)

http://www.verizonwireless.com/iphone

Chipmaker AMD Announces Resignation of CEO Dirk Meyer

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Sunnyvale, Calif. – Characterizing the move as a
"mutual" decision, chipmaker AMD late Monday announced the
resignation of Dirk Meyer as its president and CEO — roles he had held since
2009.

The company has named CFO Thomas Seifert as interim CEO, while it
launches the search for a permanent replacement.

The company credited Meyer
with helping stabilize its finances during difficult times, but said a change
was necessary to help increase shareholder value.

"This will require the
company to have significant growth, establish market leadership and generate
superior financial returns," said Chairman Bruce Claflin.

"We believe
a change in leadership at this time will accelerate the company’s ability to
accomplish these objectives."

Seifert joined AMD in 2009, after serving as
the COO and CFO of Qimonda AG.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4beucru

Bump Technologies Scores $16.5 Million for Mobile App

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Mountain View, Calif. – Bump Technologies, the developer of
a mobile application that lets users share information and data by
"bumping" their phones together, has raised $16.5 million in a new
round of venture capital financing, led by new investor Andreessen Horowitz.

Previous
backers Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures and SV Angel also participated in the
round.

Founded in 2008, Mountain View, Calif.-based Bump said 25 million users
have installed the Bump application on their iPhone and Android devices,
enabling them to quickly share photos, music, contacts, calendar events, text
messages and other data.

The company will use the funds to make additional
hires in engineering and product development.

 

Related Links:
http://blog.bu.mp/a-merry-christmas-and-a-happy-new-year

http://tinyurl.com/4mkeayp
(N.Y. Times)

VillageVines Lands $3 Million for Upscale Restaurant Club

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – VillageVines, an online club that offers reduced
pricing at upscale restaurants, has raised $3 million in a first round of
financing, led by Hearst Interactive Media.

GrandBanks Capital and High Peaks
Venture Partners also participated in the investment round, which the company
will use to hire additional staff, bolster marketing efforts and expand into
more domestic and international markets.

New York-based VillageVines currently
offers its service in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San
Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Members sign up for free, and typically receive
30% off the price of their meals.

 

Related Links:
http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=129812

http://tinyurl.com/4le6oqy
(VentureBeat)

https://www.villagevines.com

Glu Mobile to Raise $15 Million in Stock Offering

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

San Francisco – Glu Mobile (NASD: GLUU), a developer of social games for
smartphone and tablet devices, announced on Tuesday that it plans to raise $15
million through a public offering of its shares.

San Francisco-based Glu said
it will price 7.3 million shares of its stock at $2.05 per share.

The company
said it plans to use the anticipated $13.8 million in net proceeds from the
offering to accelerate development of its global social gaming community.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4u7bshv

http://www.glu.com  

SmallRivers Raises $2.1 for Paper.li Social Stream Aggregator

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

Zurich – SmallRivers, the developer of a service that
aggregates streams from a user’s social connections into an online newspaper
called Paper.li, has raised $2.1 million in new funding, TechCrunch reported.

Investors included Highland Capital Partners, Softbank Capital and Endeavour
Vision.

Switzerland-based SmallRivers’ Paper.li service collects status updates
and posts from a user’s friends on social services like Facebook and Twitter,
and republishes them in an online newspaper format.

The service counts 2
million users and is publishing 140,000 user newspapers.

The company will use
the funds to expand into the U.S. and Asia.

 

Related Links:
http://techcrunch.com/2011/01/11/smallrivers-paperli-funding

http://paper.li

Apple Discounts iPhone 3GS to $49

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple (NASD: AAPL) has dropped the price on its
iPhone 3GS to just $49, following a similar move by carrier partner AT&T (NYSE: T).
Wired notes that purchasers of the discounted iPhone 3GS will be tied to a
two-year contract with the device on AT&T’s network.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4dvcw4x
(Wired)

AOL Names Stephen Bromberg Executive Editor of AOL.com

By
Mark Hefflinger
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0

New York – Taking another step to boost its in-house content
offerings, AOL (NYSE: AOL) on Monday named former Fox News editor Stephen Bromberg as the
executive editor of AOL.com. The move comes more than two months after the
company relaunched its AOL.com homepage, featuring more video as well as both
original and sourced content.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4shp5vz

PBS Launches New iPhone, iPad Apps

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Alexandria, Va. – PBS said on Monday it has launched a PBS
app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, featuring more than 300 hours of free
video, including full-length programs. It also has launched an “Antiques
Roadshow” game app, which lets players virtually collect, appraise and bid on
real antiques. Both are available through Apple’s App Store.

 

Related Links:
http://to.pbs.org/pbsiphone

http://to.pbs.org/antiquesapp

"World of Warcraft: Cataclysm" Sells 4.7 Million in First Month

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Irvine, Calif. – Video game publisher Activision Blizzard (NASD: ATVI)
announced on Monday that "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm," the third
expansion pack for its massively multiplayer online roleplaying game, sold more
than 4.7 million copies during its first month of release — a new record for
monthly PC game sales. Before the launch of the expansion, the game counted
over 12 million players globally.

 
Related Links:
http://www.blizzard.com/games/cataclysm

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