2. TOP MOBILE & TABLET ACTIVITY – WEEK ENDING 10/12/2012
Mobile Trends
Juniper projects that the rate of mobile shopping will climb 50% over the next 24 months. That
projected growth will take user numbers to 580 million by the end of 2014, up from 393 million this
year.
– The forecast reflects the increasing importance of mobile as an eRetail channel, with retailers witnessing a marked
uplift in mobile as a proportion of online transactions. Juniper Research said that average tablet transaction sizes
already exceed those on desktops and laptops.
Groupon is taking on Square with the launch of a new iPad-based mobile payment service called
Breadcrumb. Breadcrumb is a point-of-sale system for local restaurants, bars, and small businesses to
use in place of a cash register. The service handles everything from taking orders to table
management, processes payments, and analyzes overall sales to help merchants learn more about
their business and make improvements for the future.
– For $99 per month, those businesses get access to the iPad app for a single device as well as 24/7 tech support for
the service. There’s no contract for Breadcrumb, so if a business gives it a whirl and hate it, they can stop at any
time. The price goes up the more iPads you need to use — for instance, $199 will let you use two iPads, and for
$399 you can use up to 10.
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3. TOP MOBILE & TABLET ACTIVITY – WEEK ENDING 10/12/2012
Mobile Trends (cont.)
Google has rolled out a new version of its Google+ app for both Android and iOS, bringing the
current version number to 3.2.
– The new version brings support for Google+ pages, enabling page owners to post, comment and interact
with their followers, using their smartphone.
– Other improvements include an updated widget and a new design of the “Find People” feature for the
Android version, while the iOS version gets iPhone 5 and iOS6 support, as well as the ability to edit posts.
MIT's newest research center plans to focus on mobile technologies. Wireless@MIT aims to take
the lead in next-generation wireless networks and mobile computing.
– Research at Wireless@MIT is currently focused on four areas: spectrum and connectivity, mobile
applications, security and privacy, and low-power systems. The center today launched a website detailing
the projects that are now ongoing under its umbrella.
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