An Ignoble Experiment

eBook: TV Everywhere Gets Personal

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is reaching out to its developer and publisher partners, urging them to localize their applications and related marketing efforts to better serve consumers in international markets.

In a letter sent Wednesday by Apple's App Store and iBookstore teams and obtained by AppleInsider, Apple reminds partners that its App Store for iOS and Mac App Store are now available in 155 countries worldwide, supporting 40 different languages. "It has never been more important to localize your app and marketing material," Apple states. "By localizing both, you are making it easier to reach customers throughout the world. In addition, the App Store editorial team is always looking for great apps that are localized."

Apple urges content providers to localize their app name, content, menus, settings and description, beginning by targeting English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Korean, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Turkish and Arabic. Apple goes on to point partners to localization resources and localization vendors in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

"In your marketing material, highlight the fact that your app is localized," Apple adds. "This lets users know that they can enjoy your app in their native language."

The App Store now offers close to 850,000 applications for iOS devices, app metrics firm 148Apps.biz reports. Downloads from the four leading application storefronts--the App Store, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play, BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) World and Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone Store--reached 13.4 billion worldwide during the first quarter of 2013, an 11 percent increase over the fourth quarter of 2012, research firm Canalys reported earlier this week. The App Store represented the largest indexed proportion of revenue among the four stores, at around 74 percent.

Apple's call to accelerate localization efforts signals the company's latest move to expand its international presence, with a particular emphasis on the mammoth Chinese market. Earlier this week, Apple launched a Chinese Support Communities forum, giving Chinese-speaking consumers a platform to interact in their native tongue.

Apple is reportedly in talks with China Mobile, the world's largest carrier, to offer a low-cost iPhone aimed at developing markets; insiders say Apple CEO Tim Cook met with China Mobile executives in January, but an official deal has yet to materialize. Earlier this month, Cook also issued an apology to Chinese consumers after state-run media outlets harshly criticized Apple's warranty policies, targeting its efforts to repair broken products instead of replacing them. Some outlets claimed Apple is taking advantage of Chinese customers, accusing the firm of "unparalleled arrogance." Cook vowed Apple's customer service will improve moving forward.

For more:
- read this AppleInsider article

Read more about: Apple, China Mobile
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FierceCable discusses the latest technologies TV networks and content owners use to drive increased ratings and revenue from various video devices. Download for free today.

2. Twitter confirms We Are Hunted buy, music app set to launch this weekend

By Jason Ankeny

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3. LinkedIn acquires Pulse for $90M

Twitter is reportedly poised to roll out a standalone music application leveraging technologies acquired with music discovery service We Are Hunted.

AllThingsD reports the new Twitter Music app will suggest tracks and artists to consumers based on data influencers including other Twitter accounts they follow. Users will be able to listen to clips of music culled from third-party services like Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes and Soundcloud and view music videos provided by Vevo, the music video service co-owned by Universal Music and Sony. Sources say Twitter Music will initially target Apple's iOS mobile operating system and will go live this weekend, timed to coincide with the annual Coachella Music Festival, taking place in Indio, Calif.

On Thursday, Twitter confirmed rumors it has purchased We Are Hunted, which indexed roughly 100,000 music articles and 40 million music-related tweets each month to track the most popular songs across the web and social media platforms, streaming dynamic playlists based on real-time listening trends. "While we are shutting down wearehunted.com, we will continue to create services that will delight you, as part of the Twitter team," reads a statement on the We Are Hunted site.

Twitter has not responded to requests for comment on its music ambitions, but on Thursday, Twitter Vice President of Business and Corporate Development Kevin Thau retweeted posts by television presenter Ryan Seacrest exclaiming "playing with @twitter's new music app (yes it's real!" and "lovin the app...shows what artists are trending, also has up and coming artists." Thau also responded "so glad you're enjoying it! cc @twittermusic."

Twitter passed the 200 million monthly active user milestone in late 2012. Research firm comScore reports that 53.6 percent of unique Twitter users access the platform via mobile device.

For more:
- read this AllThingsD article
- read this TechCrunch article
- read this Billboard article

Read more about: VC/M&A, Twitter
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By Mike Dano

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4. AT&T taps Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket for Android Jelly Bean upgrade

LinkedIn announced it acquired mobile news app Pulse, from Alphonso Labs, in a deal valued at $90 million. The news comes as little surprise; AllThingsD reported in March that LinkedIn would pay between $50 million and $100 million for Pulse, beating out rival suitors including Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Yahoo.

LinkedIn said that Pulse, founded in 2010, now counts more than 30 million users across its iOS, Android and HTML5 apps in more than 190 countries.

LinkedIn said it would continue to operate the Pulse app and would work to integrate Pulse's team and technology into the LinkedIn service to create the "definitive professional publishing platform." However, LinkedIn provided little in the way of details on how it would use Pulse in the future.

"Now that our team is part of LinkedIn, we'll work together to expand the possibilities for content discovery, helping readers engage in conversations with colleagues, mentors, industry leaders and beyond," said Pulse co-founder Ankit Gupta.

The Pulse service brings together content from users' favorite newspapers, magazines, social networks and blogs. Alphonso Labs previously raised $10 million from investors including Redpoint Ventures, Greycroft Partners, Mayfield Fund, Lightspeed Investment Partners and New Enterprise Associates.

The Pulse deal continues LinkedIn's efforts to boost its content offerings. The professional social network rolled out a news hub in early 2011 and last year launched Influencers, enabling users to follow content from thought leaders across a series of verticals.

For more:
- see this release

Read more about: OMVC
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By Jason Ankeny

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5. Report: Apple, Universal streaming music deal imminent, Sony talks lag

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) is rolling out Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean mobile operating system update to Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S II Skyrocket smartphone. Subscribers can upgrade their device by accessing the Samsung Kies software app from their PC.

Galaxy S II Skyrocket

According to AT&T, the Jelly Bean update makes a series of signature Galaxy S III features available to Galaxy S II Skyrocket users. Highlights include Smart Stay, which tracks eye movement to guarantee the device screen backlight doesn't dim or switch to idle mode while in use; Direct Call, which converts from text message interface to voice call interface by raising the phone to the ear; and Pop Up Play, which lets consumers view video content while simultaneously operating other apps.

The Jelly Bean overhaul also adds AT&T DriveMode, which generates automatic replies to incoming messages in an effort to curb texting while driving, as well as AT&T Locker, which stores photos, videos and documents in the cloud.

Google unveiled Android Jelly Bean in mid-2012 during its annual I/O developer conference. The update promises a smoother and more responsive UI across the system, highlighted by triple buffering in the graphics pipeline for more consistent rendering as well as synchronized touch to reduce latency. Jelly Bean also brings a revamped homescreen that automatically adapts to fit content, along with Google Now, which includes personalized information like local weather and traffic updates.

According to Google's Android Developers dashboard, Android Jelly Bean 4.1.x currently powers 23 percent of all devices worldwide, up from 14.9 percent a month ago. The spike follows Google revising its approach to measuring Android operating system version adoption, collecting data from each Android device that visits the Google Play digital storefront instead of tracking devices that check in on the company's servers.

For more:
- read this AT&T Consumer Blog post

Read more about: Google, AT&T Mobility
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By Jason Ankeny

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