Facebook Messenger Launches, essentially it’s just Beluga reskinned.
Facebook purchased red hot group messaging startup, Beluga earlier this year. Beluga allowed you to create text message groups, so you could easily correspond with multiple phone numbers without having to text each person. The service was incredibly handy and as a result, was snatched up by Facebook as soon as they saw it. Facebook was most impressed with the 3 person dev team behind.
Facebook has plans to integrate the Beluga service into their native mobile app, but they decided to release a standalone version of their messaging service. The reasons behind the standalone messaging app are still a mystery. Folks in the industry are speculating that Facebook wanted to rush the service because Google plus had a similar feature called Huddle; and this could be a way to blunt their momentum. It remains unclear whether the Beluga app will continue to be supported. My guess is that Facebook is going to deprecate the service shortly.
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Next time you enter a baseball stadium, instead of hearing ‘Programs, Programs…’ you might hear, ‘Tablets, Tablets, get your Game Day Tablet’.
Angels stadium has partnered with T-Mobile to rent tablet computers to fans. As of July, for the price of $10 per game, users get to use a G-Slate or Galaxy complete with an interactive program.
Stadiums have seen the trend of many people using their mobile device at the games, so now they are focusing on developing apps that are designed for use inside the stadium. Imagine ordering a hot dog from you seat using your phone, or watching another team via streaming TV from your seat, or finding the nearest concession stand. The possibilities are endless.
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Another development in mobile is a company focused on turning your phone into a wallet.
A new startup called Pago has launched mobile payments in 2 markets and is aggressively expanding. The premise is simple, log your credit card into the system, and authorize payments with your phone. You would pull up the app, view a menu item, make the purchase, and show the receipt to the clerk.
While they have plans to expand to San Diego in January of 2012, we are not one of their active markets.
There are a handful of apps that allow you to pay for things like coffee or a cab with your phone, but they are far from ubiquitous. You have to use a different app for each service, which isn’t the end goal. Pago represents one of the companies paving the way for mobile payments that will be easy for customer’s to use across many different businesses.
Visa has unveiled a plan to encourage the adoption of a contact free chip that will pave the way for the ability to use your phone as an actual credit card, but we are still a ways off from that becoming a reality.
The future of the smart phone is bright. From being able to unlock your doors, start your car, or pay for a coffee, it’s all converging on the mobile device and it makes this particular device rich with innovation. could
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Take Lessons, a site that helps music students find teachers, and helps instructors manage their business, has just raised a 6M dollar round of funding from Cross Link capital.
TakeLessons launched in 2006 and raise just under 2 million dollars from angel investors. They have over 60 employees and this is their first round of institutional funding.
I think investors are excited because they’ve built up a quite a footprint without spending much money. To accomplish the same thing in Silicon Valley would require more money; investors have been impressed with the traction they’ve established with relatively small resources. It’s a good sign for San Diego startups and investors looking to bolster the entrepenurial community.
