March 11 at 10:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Technology
By Wailin Wong
A group of technology boosters are organizing a week-long conference in July called TechWeek Chicago that will feature workshops, panel discussions and an expo to showcase the city’s startups.
One of the primary organizers of TechWeek Chicago, which was announced Friday, is Chicago technology startup consultancy midVentures. The firm is joining with 13 other organizations for TechWeek Chicago, which the backers are hoping will draw more than 6,000 Chicagoans to more than 60 events. The program includes “exhibition areas and startup pitches to interactive design workshops and product launch parties,” according to the TechWeek Chicago Web site. Get the full story »
By Dow Jones Newswires
Technology companies Friday were assessing the impact of the Japanese earthquake on component supplies and on their local plants, staff and sub-contractors, with most saying it was too early to give more details.
The 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck northern Japan, causing deaths and damage to the northeast and panic as far south as Tokyo, with an ensuing tsunami devastating coastal areas.
Japan is a major exporter of electronic goods and chips. The total global semiconductor market alone is worth around $298 billion, with Japan contributing around 24 percent to that total and Taiwan 30 percent, according to data from U.K.-based semiconductor market research firm Future Horizons. Europe, meanwhile, accounts for only 8% of global semiconductor production, meaning the region is largely dependent on Asian imports. Japan exports half of the semiconductors it produces. Get the full story »
March 10 at 4:56 p.m.
Filed under:
Airplanes,
Technology,
Wireless
By Wailin Wong
Itasca-based Aircell, which provides inflight Wi-Fi on airlines, said Thursday that it is upgrading its service and will introduce technology enabling international service by 2015.
Aircell’s Gogo Wi-Fi service is available on a number of carriers, including United Airlines, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. It currently uses a land-based system, where base stations connect with Wi-Fi hotspots on aircraft. Passengers can buy the service on their flight, accessing the Web on laptops or mobile devices. Get the full story »
By Reuters
Apple Inc. will kick off online sales of its new iPad in the early hours Friday before its evening store launch of the tablet computer.
Consumers can start buying the iPad 2 on Apple’s website at 3 a.m. Central time Friday while customers who want to purchase it in a store will have to wait until 4 p.m., Apple said. Get the full story »
March 4 at 4:45 p.m.
Filed under:
Entertainment,
Internet,
Media,
Music,
Technology
By Dow Jones Newswires
Apple Inc. is in talks with record labels to give customers of Apple’s iTunes service unlimited access to music purchased across multiple devices, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the plans. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
Microsoft has launched a daily deals service, integrating offers from industry leaders such as Groupon and LivingSocial into its Bing search engine for the desktop and mobile devices.
The move puts Microsoft into the daily deals space, but as an aggregator rather than a direct provider of discounts. Yahoo! launched an aggregation service, Local Offers, in November. Get the full story »
March 3 at 2:32 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology,
Venture capital
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Mobility’s venture capital arm has announced its second investment in a week, putting money into a Redwood City, Calif.-based developer of games for mobile devices and social networks.
Motorola Mobility Ventures did not disclose the size of its equity investment in Moblyng, but it typically invests $3 million to $5 million. Other investors in Moblyng’s latest round of funding were Mohr Davidow Ventures and Deep Fork Capital, both investment firms based in Menlo Park, Calif. Get the full story »
March 3 at 1:07 p.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Stock activity,
Technology
By Dow Jones Newswires
Shares of Motorola Mobility slumped Thursday as Apple Inc.’s new iPad won rave reviews.
Motorola Mobility shares were recently down 5.2 percent, at $26.90.
Cowen and Co. downgraded the stock to neutral from outperform, a day after Apple took the wraps of the iPad 2. Apple shares were up nearly 2 percent. Get the full story »
March 3 at 5:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Cell phones,
Consumer news,
Technology
By CNN
Gadget analysis group AnandTech, which was the first to diagnose the iPhone 4 antenna issue, ran a thorough test of the new Verizon iPhone 4 and found that the “death grip“ problem has been mitigated.
“Apple fixed the problem,“ said Brian Klug, author of AnandTech’s report. “You can use the Verizon Wireless iPhone with no case without any concern for losing signal because of how it’s held.“ Get the full story »
March 2 at 10:52 a.m.
Filed under:
Real estate,
Technology
From The Daily Herald | AT&T, which has its Midwest headquarters in Hoffman Estates, is expected to open a new flagship store for wireless products in Arlington Heights this summer or fall.
March 1 at 3:33 p.m.
Filed under:
Consulting,
Internet,
Technology,
Updated
By Wailin Wong
A local information technology consulting firm is tapping group-buying site Groupon to offer its services at a steep discount — a $12,500 discount, to be precise.
Rolling Meadows-based Ajilitee, which specializes in analytics and cloud computing, on Tuesday launched a deal on Groupon that offers buyers $25,000 worth of consulting services for $12,500. The firm’s foray into group buying makes them among the first companies to experiment with the technology platform for the business-to-business sector, as Chicago-based Groupon and its rivals primarily offer consumer deals such as discounts on restaurants and salons. Get the full story »
March 1 at 3:17 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology,
Telecommunications,
Wireless
By Reuters
A Verizon Communications executive hinted at a new version of the iPhone and said Verizon Wireless will replace its unlimited mobile data plans with usage-based pricing around the middle of summer.
Verizon’s shares fell 2.4 percent on Tuesday after its chief financial officer, Fran Shammo, said a new iPhone would hurt quarterly margins whenever it arrives. Get the full story »
Bloomberg News | Amazon.com plans to open an app store to sell software for the Android operating system. It will join the more than 30 stores selling the mobile-phone downloads.
By Wailin Wong
Motorola Mobility is planning to make its webtop application, which connects a smart phone with a laptop dock to simulate a desktop experience, a common feature on most of its high-end devices by year-end, Chief Executive Sanjay Jha said Monday.
Motorola introduced the webtop functionality at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, when it unveiled the Atrix, a smart phone running Google’s Android operating system. The Atrix, which will go on sale at AT&T stores next week, nestles into a thin laptop dock with an 11.6-inch display and full keyboard. The phone powers the set-up, which gives the user full PC capabilities, including Web-based desktop applications. Get the full story »
By Associated Press
In a first for a wireless carrier, AT&T Inc. said Monday that it will use its phones’ location-sensing ability to target text ads with coupons and other offers to participating subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco.
Kmart, part of Sears Holdings Corp., is one of the chains that have signed up for ShopAlerts by AT&T. That means AT&T could send discount offers to subscribers who are close to a Kmart store. Get the full story »
