Yahoo

Yahoo expands Blueprint mobile platform

Jason Ankeny — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:07:43 -0400

Yahoo announced a series of enhancements to its Blueprint mobile development platform, enabling developers to create standalone applications for Java, Windows Mobile and Symbian devices and build mobile websites accessible via virtually any HTML or xHTML browser. Speaking Wednesday at the CTIA Wireless I.T. & Entertainment event in San Francisco, Marco Boerries, executive vice president of Yahoo's Connected Life unit, said the improved Blueprint platform will include a full SDK enabling developers to efficiently create mobile services that operate across thousands of devices--the web services giant is also employing Platform internally to develop applications for Apple's iPhone, and is in negotiations with Apple to release Blueprint for the iPhone to other developers as well.

"Blueprint is our way to help us and the industry develop mobile Internet services," Boerries said. "It's not another mobile OS, and it's not a platform to develop games." Boerries added that the Blueprint platform promises developers a truly open environment, enabling them to select their own distribution channels and partner with the advertising providers of their choice. ("We're confident publishers will pick us," Boerries said.)

Click here to see photos of this keynote...

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QUICKLINKS: Report: BlackBerry Thunder to debut in Q3; Microsoft proposes alternative Yahoo deal;

Tue, 20 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

> Report: BlackBerry Thunder to debut in Q3.

> Microsoft proposes alternative Yahoo deal.

> Windows Live Services to launch on BlackBerry.

> Vodafone, AT&T interested in Huawei handset biz?

> Qualcomm wins L-Band spectrum auction.

> LG and Samsung team on mobile DTV standard.

QUICKLINKS: Top Five Converged Devices; Microsoft walks away from Yahoo bid;

Tue, 06 May 2008 06:59:55 -0400

> Top Five Converged Devices
No longer just voice-centric phones, mobile devices now come in a variety of different form factors and sport a slew of new capabilities. Check out FierceBroadbandWireless' list of the top converged devices so far this year.

> Microsoft walks away from Yahoo bid.

> Nokia promises new phones for U.S.

> Research In Motion inks distribution deal with Brightpoint.

> AT&T to offer Garmin phone for $500?

QUICKLINKS: Nokia previews iPhone-killer named Tube; News Corp. may join Microsoft in Yahoo bid;

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

> Nokia previews iPhone-killer named Tube. FierceWireless

> News Corp. may join Microsoft in Yahoo bid. FierceMobileContent

> Report: Phone makers need to target diversity. FierceWireless

> Hands-on with Sony Ericsson's Xperia. FierceWireless

Yahoo contends Microsoft takeover bid is too low

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Facing deadline pressure from Microsoft to consummate the software Goliath's $41 billion buyout bid, web services giant Yahoo said Monday it doesn't necessarily oppose a deal--it simply wants a better offer. Microsoft warned Saturday it will mount a hostile takeover if an agreement is not reached by April 26--in an open letter to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, Yahoo's board of directors responds "We have continued to make clear that we are not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders. Our position is simply that any transaction must be at a value that fully reflects the value of Yahoo, including any strategic benefits to Microsoft, and on terms that provide certainty to our stockholders... We are open to all alternatives that maximize stockholder value." The letter also asserts that Microsoft has publicly mis-characterized the negotiations, arguing its takeover threats are "counterproductive."

For more on Yahoo's position:
-read this letter to Steve Ballmer

Related articles:
Where the Microsoft/Yahoo merger goes from here
Can Yahoo reinvent its business for the mobile web?

Video Coverage: Yahoo rejects Microsoft bid

Mike Dolan — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:11:11 -0500

Feb. 11 - Yahoo Rejects Microsoft Office:

Feb. 14 - Yahoo to team with Newscorp?

Feb. 20 - Yahoo to offer severance plans for employees

Feb. 21 - Microsoft to wage proxy fight

QUICKLINKS: Mobile UI advances to watch in 2008; wireless spats to spur patent regulation?;

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

> Special Report: Mobile UI advances to watch in 2008. FierceMobileContent

> Background on the Microsoft/Yahoo bid. Videos

> Wireless spats to spur patent regulation? FierceWireless

> Study: Smartphones dominating mobile game play. FierceMobileContent

> Are native mobile applications facing extinction? Blog

> Nokia Growth Partners invests in mobile imaging firm Morpho. Release

QUICKLINKS: Unit testing isn't enough; New EclipseME released;

Tue, 01 May 2007 06:59:55 -0400

Unit testing alone is not enough. Blog

EclipseME 1.6.7 released. Blog

Google Mobile Maps versus Yahoo! Go

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JetBlue ponders in-flight text messaging. Article

Understanding Twitter. Article

Joel Spolsky on recruiting and internships. Editorial

CNet Editor: Why you'll never buy a UMPC. Article

QUICKLINKS: T-Mo launches white Pearl; Amp'd subscriber numbers; Much more...

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:01:35 -0500

T-Mobile follows LG's lead, launches white BlackBerry Pearl. Blog

Opera partners with Yahoo for search. Blog

Yahoo! Go Mobile: Beauty and the bloat. Blog

Amp'd: 100,000 subscribers, 89 percent post-pay, subscribers spend $3/month on mobile gaming. Blog

iPhony turns your Treo into an iPhone. I doubt this will last.

Call for papers: Mobile Web in the Developing World. Blog

Editor's Corner: Mobile Social Networking

Mon, 04 Dec 2006 19:01:39 -0500

Mobile Social Networking
Streaming video and full-track audio downloads may be the next big thing, but SMS is still the killer data feature for most consumers (and studies show SMS continues to grow). This is especially true for mobile social networking sites.

Last week, Yahoo soft-launched Mixd, a new mobile social networking site that uses an SMS shortcode to send group messages or pictures. Mixd is clearly targeting younger users who are looking for an easy way to connect a group of friends.

Yahoo's entry in this increasingly crowded market shouldn't be a complete shock. Just two months ago, a Yahoo VP said that mobile devices open up "a whole new universe of contributors and users" for online communities.

In a sense, Yahoo is just playing catch-up to Google, which purchased SMS-based networking site Dodgeball in May of 2005. Google hasn't done much with Dodgeball yet other than link Dodgeball profiles to Google accounts, but clearly there are big things in the works.

And in the up-and-coming category we have Zemble. Zemble, which was just profiled in Wired's blog, is pushing easy-to-use group messaging and reply-to-all functionality. Not a bad idea, but it remains to be seen if Zemble can turn those neat features into a community (and if they can do it before the Yahoo's and Google's of the world get there). - Eli