How Groupon Might Change Advertising

"Maybe you haven’t noticed, but media companies have changed their strategy of charging for advertising," says Gordon Borrell, Borrell Associates president. 'If it continues, the business model for media might change forever.'

Group deals have allowed local businesses to offload the risk of advertising onto the media company, Borrell argues. "Advertising has become 'free,' and the media company gets paid only when a sale is made.

"If this continues, it will transform media companies into marketing partners," he argues.

Borrell Associates, Inc: Local Interactive & Online Advertising Research and Consulting

Clay Christensen on Local Media Prospects

Timing the shift to Ethernet in mobile backhaul - FierceTelecom

Carriers are rapidly reducing TDM's role in mobile backhaul, says Jim Theodoras, Ethernet Forum president. An April 2010 Infonetics report illustrates the change in thinking.

The firm's August 2009 survey of 18 mobile operators and transport providers indicated that 60 percent were taking a hybrid approach to backhaul that leverages both Ethernet and TDM. At that time, only 47 percent intended to commit to pure Ethernet.

Infonetics' survey in March 2010--just six months later--showed a near flip in the ratio: 45 percent hybrid, 65 percent Ethernet-only.

Timing the shift to Ethernet in mobile backhaul - FierceTelecom

Android Getting In-App Billing

In-app billing is coming to the Android Market. The new service gives developers more ways to monetize their applications through new billing models including try-and-buy, virtual goods, upgrades, and more.

The In-app billing service manages billing transactions between apps and users, providing a consistent purchasing experience with familiar forms of payment across all apps. At the same time, it gives you full control over how your digital goods are purchased and tracked. You can let Android Market manage and track the purchases for you or you can integrate with your own back-end service to verify and track purchases in the way that's best for your app.

In-app billing will be available in stages. Google is now providing detailed documentation and a sample application to help developers get familiar with the service. Over the next few weeks Google will be rolling out updates to the Android Market client that will enable developers to test the apps using the service. Before the end of this quarter, the service will be live for users.

Android Developers Blog

Android Market Now on PCs, Auto Download to Mobiles

Starting today, says Google, the Android Market client for mobile devices will be available for desktops. Anyone can now easily find and share applications from their favorite browser. Once users select an application they want, it will automatically be downloaded to their Android-powered devices over-the-air.

Android Market on the Web dramatically expands the discoverability of applications through a rich browsing experience, suggestion-guided searching, deep linking, social sharing, and other merchandising features.

Google is releasing the initial version of Android Market on the Web in English and will be extending it to other languages in the weeks ahead.

Android Developers Blog

Google Hotpot: Discover Places You Like

Android 3.0, Honeycomb Designed to Drive Tablets

Honeycomb is the next version of the Android platform, designed from the ground up for devices with larger screen sizes, particularly tablets.

Honeycomb will feature a brand new, truly virtual and holographic user interface, refined multi-tasking, elegant notifications, access to over 100,000 apps on Android Market, home screen customization with a new 3D experience and redesigned widgets that are richer and more interactive, Google says.

The web browser includes tabbed browsing, form auto-fill, syncing with Google Chrome bookmarks, and incognito mode for private browsing.

A Sneak Peek of Android 3.0, Honeycomb - Official Google Mobile Blog