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Messaging apps show mobile Internet's rise in Asia

By YOUKYUNG LEE | Associated Press – 22 hrs ago

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A handful of smartphone apps that began as basic instant messaging services have amassed several hundred million users in Asia in just a couple of years, mounting a challenge to the popularity of online hangouts such as Facebook as they branch into games, e-commerce, celebrity news and other areas.

Among them is Line, which has grown to 60 million users, mostly in Asia including at least 29 million in Japan. Its developer estimates the number of users will reach 100 million by the end of this year. Also popular is Kakao Talk with 60 million users, more than half in South Korea where it originates. Other successful messengers are Nimbuzz made by an India-based firm which has amassed 100 million users including 31 million in Asia, and WeChat by China-based Tencent, which is nearing 200 million users.

The rapid growth of such applications underlines that people are increasingly going online using mobile phones and other wireless devices. It is a trend that has proved problematic for the world's most popular social networking site. Facebook has lost more than $50 billion of its market value since its initial public offering largely due to doubts about its ability to successfully insert advertising into the mobile version that a large and growing number of its 955 million users access from smartphones.
"Japan, Korea and to a lesser extent China are leading the way in terms of mobile messaging-centric apps that move into diverse and potentially very profitable new service areas like gaming, affiliate marketing, next-generation emoticons," said analyst Mark Ranson at research firm Ovum. "Offering a free, high quality messaging service is a good way of building a large and loyal user base which can later be introduced to more readily monetizeable services."
Instant messaging, also known as IM, was first popularized on desktop computers with applications such as Microsoft Messenger that evolved from text-based chatting and sharing files to the voice calls and video conferencing that Skype is known for. The advent of smartphones took IM back to basics with services such as WhatsApp and Blackberry Messenger that allowed for real-time chatting, swapping photos and not much else. The new instant messaging apps such as Line have evolved into online destinations in their own right.
"I use Line messenger every day, about every hour ... instead of text messages or emails," Supinda Toochinda, a 31-year-old interior designer in Bangkok, said in an email. She said Line was the only mobile application she'd spent money with, buying elaborate emoticons called stickers that can be sent to friends while chatting.
Part of the appeal of the applications is the ability to create an unlimited number of group chats and the ease with which connections can be made — the apps automatically create a contacts list by harvesting the contacts list saved in the phone. At the same time, managing privacy is simpler than on a social networking site.
Analysts say these mobile messengers are showing more nimble and promising moves in the efforts to make such mobile services profitable without relying solely on advertising.
"Kakao Talk and Line are seeing opportunities as Facebook isn't making money from users of its mobile website and app," said Ryu Han-seok, director of the Technology, Labor and Culture Institute, a consulting company, in Seoul. "In the mobile markets in Asia, they are ahead of the game."
"It is probably tough to compete with Facebook in the U.S. or Europe. But in Japan, South Korea and other Asian countries, they have a good chance of beating Facebook," said Ryu.
While Line messenger is expanding to photo editing and sharing, social games and Twitter-like features that allow users to follow corporate brands or celebrities, its windfall came from sales of virtual goods. Sales of stickers — a $1.99 bundle of cute pictures of cartoon characters or animals — have been its biggest revenue generator. In August, users spent about $3 million to send the elaborate emoticons when they chat with friends.
Kakao Talk, which is only accessible on mobile devices, says it is trying to develop a business model that isn't dependent on advertising. Since its launch in 2010, it has added a free voice calling service, a gift shop to send Starbucks drink coupons to friends, and options for receiving weather and news, discount vouchers and music videos.
"We are not interested in displaying mobile banner ads just to make money," Kakao Inc. CEO Sirgoo Lee said in an interview with The Associated Press.

The app has been wildly popular in South Korea. Even a small disruption in service makes news and it has entered the local lexicon with the phrase "let's do ka talk." South Koreans are typically connected to multiple group chats on Kakao Talk, holding conversations in separate chat rooms with family, a group of close friends, co-workers and other circles.

According to Appsooni.com, which compiles data on Android applications, South Koreans used Kakao Talk for 62 minutes a day on average in August, compared with 17 minutes on Facebook's Android application.

In a move seen as bringing the three-year-old startup close to generating a profit, Kakao introduced mobile games to its users in July.

"Giving gifts or sending emoticons are business models that Facebook doesn't have. Facebook simply displays ads so its model is different from ours. (Facebook's) profit models are not tailored for mobile users," Lee said.

___

Associated Press writers Thanyarat Doksone in Bangkok and Gillian Wong in Beijing and AP Business Writer Yuri Kageyama in Tokyo contributed to this report.

Follow Youkyung Lee on Twitter at http://twitter.com/YKLeeAP

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Armstrong called humble hero who served country

When Neil Armstrong walked on the moon all those years ago, he made his country believe that anything was possible with ingenuity and dedication — and in the process became one of America's greatest heroes, his friends, colleagues and admirers said Saturday after news that the former astronaut had died.

"When I think of Neil, I think of someone who for our country was dedicated enough to dare greatly," said former astronaut John Glenn, who went through jungle training in Panama with Armstrong as part of the astronaut program and was a close friend. He said Armstrong showed exemplary skill and dedication.

The idea of Armstrong as a humble pilot who served his country above all echoed around the country Saturday, by visitors to museums that fete his accomplishments and by his former NASA colleagues. Armstrong died Saturday at age 82 from complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, his family said.

In California, visitors and staff at the Griffith Observatory paused for a moment of silence. At the Armstrong Air and Space Museum in Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta, Ohio, a black ribbon hung over a plaque of Armstrong in the museum's entryway and a U.S. flag was lowered in Armstrong's memory.
Tourist Jonathon Lack, a judge from Anchorage, Alaska, said he decided to visit the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C., after hearing of Armstrong's death.
"What really hit me is that he was in his 30s when he walked on the moon," said Lack, who is 42. "That made me think about how little I've done."
He saw in Armstrong's death a reminder of an America where people dreamed big things and sought to accomplish the inconceivable.
Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th-century's scientific expeditions during the climax of a heated space race with the Soviet Union.
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the lunar surface, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs. Aldrin, who became the public face of the moon landing after shy Armstrong recoiled from the public eye, said his colleague's leap changed the world forever and became a landmark moment in human history.
"Whenever I look at the moon, it reminds me of the moment over four decades ago when I realized that even though we were farther away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone," he said. "Virtually the entire world took that memorable journey with us. I know I am joined by millions of others in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew."
The third astronaut on the mission, Michael Collins, circled the moon in the mother ship 60 miles overhead while the other two went to the surface. "He was the best, and I will miss him terribly," Collins said, according to NASA's website.
The Apollo 11 command module Columbia is on display at the Air and Space Museum, and visitors there Saturday gathered around it to remember Armstrong and his accomplishments.
Bob Behnken, the chief of the NASA Astronaut Office, said Armstrong's historic step was the reason many became astronauts.
"Neil Armstrong was a very personal inspiration to all of us within the astronaut office," he said. "The only thing that outshone his accomplishments was his humility about those accomplishments. "
Daniel Zhou, a student at Armstrong's alma mater Purdue University in Indiana and a member of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, said Saturday was sad day.
"He will always be a source of inspiration for our generation, and for the generations to come, as we ask ourselves, 'Why explore space?'" Zhou said.
At New York's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, a 1960 photo of Armstrong hangs near the space shuttle Enterprise — showing a youthful NASA pilot standing and smiling next to the X-15 rocket plane he was testing.
On Saturday afternoon, many among the hundreds of visitors filing past the mammoth white display didn't know he had died.
'I'm shocked!" said Dennis McKowan, 49, a computer network engineer from Sunnyvale, Calif., on a business trip to New York. "I used to skip school to watch the Apollo launches."
He was a child when he watched the moon landing.

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This Money Management App Is the Wallet of the Future

Quick Pitch: Adaptu Wallet is a financial planner disguised as an iOS app.

[More from Mashable: ]

Genius Idea:Adaptu Wallet links accounts, monitors spending and calculates future expenses to give users an accurate read of how much money they currently have.

---

The Internet makes spending money easier than ever before. But here’s something that online shoppers and real-life mall rats may not know -- online money management is just as simple as spending.

[More from Mashable: ]
Sites like Mint have been providing budgeting tools via the web for years, but , which launched in 2010, has taken the concept to the next level -- namely, your iOS device.

Those who indulge in retail therapy without realizing that their lack of money management skills may land them in actual therapy would do well to invest in Adaptu’s free app, Adaptu Wallet. It's the first personal finance app that allows users to control their cash flow.

Adaptu Wallet eliminates physical bulk by allowing you to take photos of membership cards and the like while simultaneously functioning as your financial conscience.
If you’re about to partake in an impulse purchase, the app will first tell you if have the dough, and then whether or not the spending fits into your overall budget.

Adaptu Wallet takes into account all of your financial information, from bank accounts to bills, and forces you to adapt to your current economic climate. And since the future is never far off, it also calculates upcoming expenses to provide you with an accurate read of how much fun money you actually have.

“At Adaptu, we encourage our members to plan for long-term, achievable financial goals, while enjoying the immediate benefits of feeling more in control of their money on a daily basis,” Lisa Hannah of Adaptu told Mashable.
Just like with an ATM, a 4-digit PIN is required to access your information, and everything is encrypted with bank-level security. And don't worry about a disconnect — every time your bank makes a change to your accounts, Adaptu will automatically do the same.

For the more seasoned budgeting enthusiast, investment summaries for IRA and 401(k) accounts are available. Essentially, Adaptu Wallet is a pocket-sized financial planner.

Would you manage your money with Adaptu Wallet? Tell us in the comments.

This story originally published on Mashable .

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Microsoft to release Windows 8 on October 26

on Wednesday announced that its next-generation operating system tailored for a world shifting from personal computers to smartphones and tablets will be available on October 26.

Windows unit boss Steven Sinofsky revealed the Windows 8 debut date at a sales meeting, Microsoft communications manager Brandon LeBlanc said in a blog post.

Windows 8 will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide, according to LeBlanc.

Microsoft has promised to make the new operating system available in August for computer, tablet or smartphone makers to build into hardware.

It "is simply the biggest deal for this company in at least 17 years," Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer said last week, referring to the time since the launch of the game-changing Windows 95 operating system.
"It's the glue; it's the foundation of everything Microsoft is built on."

Microsoft reported that it has sold more than 630 million licenses of Windows 7, and that the software powers the majority of business desktop computers.

Windows 7 went public in October 2009.

The latest version of the operating system that is the norm for personal computers will also be used on many smartphones and tablet computers, including Microsoft's own Surface tablet to be launched this year.

The Redmond, Washington-based firm has gone on record stating that Surface tablets would hit the market when the Windows 8 operating system became publicly available.

Windows 8 allows users readily to store and share personal data among various devices under the "SkyDrive" cloud computing service.

Rivals Apple and Google offer such services, which let people store digital data on servers in the Internet "cloud" and access files from devices of their choosing.

The new Microsoft system will support a wider range of devices, including touch- and stylus-based smartphones and tablet PCs as well as desktop and laptop machines.

Versions of Windows 8 have been tailored for chips used to power various mobile devices.

The software giant has been trying to expand its presence in the booming market for smartphones and tablets, which is currently dominated by Apple and Google.

Microsoft

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Apple must run "Samsung did not copy iPad" ads: report

The notice, which is in effect an advertisement for Samsung, should remain on Apple's website for at least six months, the report said.

The judge, however, rejected Samsung's request that Apple be forbidden from continuing to claim that its design rights had been infringed, saying that Apple was entitled to hold the opinion, the news agency said.

Samsung said in a statement after the hearing: "Should Apple continue to make excessive legal claims based on such generic designs, innovation in the industry could be harmed and consumer choice unduly limited."

Apple declined to comment on Judge Birss's instruction.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Mark Potter)

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....How Nokia Dropped the Ball on Smartphones and Two Other Stories You Need to Know

Welcome to this morning’s edition of “ ,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world. Today, we’re looking at three particularly interesting stories.

How Nokia Dropped the Ball on Smartphones

[More from Mashable: ]

Through a series of interviews with key executives, the has taken a look into Nokia's history, revealing how Nokia almost caught the touchscreen smartphone bandwagon, but ultimately decided to take a different course.
Probably the most revealing quote in the story comes from Nokia's chief designer Frank Nuovo. Looking at old Nokia slides, which show early touchscreen smartphone prototypes, Nuovo said: "Oh my God. We had it completely nailed."

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