Available for select Galaxy devices, the new Samsung Wallet made its consumer debut in Korea, with more than 30,000 domestic retailers supporting the service on launch.
Future plans include adding support for Passbook-like services, including membership cards, coupons tickets, and other services.
Samsung spokespeople told us NFC payments will be supported withing the next year. No timeline announced for wider expansion beyond South Korea.
“Some Marks and Spencer customers have told the BBC of cases where the chain’s contactless payment terminals have taken money from cards other than the ones intended for payment.”
Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22545804
“The vision and generosity of Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young will profoundly influence the way all of us perceive and experience artistic media,” University of Southern California President C. L. Max Nikias.
Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are giving $70 million to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles to establish a four-year undergraduate program for students interested in a mix of the arts, visual design, entrepreneurship, computer science and marketing.
The gift will create the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation, with the intention of attracting students “who challenge conventional views of art and industry,” according to a statement by the university.
Source: Rolling Stone Magazine
BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins shared during the opening keynote of BlackBerry World, the smartphone maker’s annual developer event that it is bringing BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), its proprietary messaging platform, to Android and iOS devices. This is a significant strategy shift that could drive cross-adoption and enhance utility and relevancy of the brand.
For those unfamiliar with BBM, it uses carrier data networks to pass secure messages back and forth through its servers to other BlackBerry users. The service now offers the ability to make phone calls, conduct video chats and share screen views with other BBM users holding the new BlackBerry 10.
Heins told the enthusiastic audience that BBM for Android and iOS will be free. Features loaded into the Android and iOS BBM apps at launch will include normal chat and group chats, followed by voice and video over the next few months.
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched Transforming the Financial Lives of a Generation of Young Americans, a white paper with specific recommendations for advancing financial education in grades K-12.
Not to be left behind, the Treasury Department has introduced moneyasyoulearn.org, a new website offering teachers ready-made personal finance lessons that fit neatly into existing math and English courses.
Read more: http://business.time.com/2013/05/07/a-big-push-for-mandatory-personal-finance-classes-in-school
It was a busy Sunday afternoon and I’m at Lowe’s looking for a new water softener for our home. The product was on display, but not a soul wearing the red and blue vest was nearby to answer a few questions. Not to worry, I whipped out my iPhone, scanned the bar code on the box, and got the basic info I needed to get me started.
A few feet away, a couple were looking at the screen of their phone, discovering that whatever store they were looking for didn’t have a location nearby.
No surprise to anyone trying to find knowledgeable help in a retail store these days, smartphones have replaced interaction with store personnel.
“Mobile In-Store Research: How in-store shoppers are using mobile devices,” a new study from the Google Shopper Council, says 84 percent of mobile shoppers use their phones to help make better purchases while in physical stores.
The report says 82 percent of respondents used mobile search to find information about products. Comparing prices (53 percent), seeking offers and promotions (39 percent), finding locations of other stores (36 percent) and getting hours of the store (35 percent) were other top uses.
The study discovered that one-third of respondents would rather consult their phone than ask a person for information in store, assuming anyone was available.
By the way, I never found anyone at Lowe’s to get my “how much to install it” question answered. A subsequent stop at Sears down the street was met by a real live person in appliances who was trained about the product, handed me some literature, reassured me that the installer knew what he was doing, and made some recommendations, all which resulted in a sale. While I was there, I picked up a garage door opener, too.
Schwinn Sting-Ray with Overdrive Transmission
It’s a sad day for some of us here in the Santa Monica offices as we learned Al Fritz has died at 88. He was the Schwinn exec who developed “the Corvette of bicycles,” the Schwinn Sting-Ray.
The low-slung bike with sky-high handlebars was born out of the Southern California surf culture and went on to became a national phenomenon.
Back in his youth, this author personally rode a lime green Sting-Ray with a coveted Overdrive two-speed kick-back hub, mostly with the front wheel off the ground in a perpetual “wheelie.”
