Blackberry Curve is number one - 06/05/2009

This week in Entrepreneur Country :

Blackberry ousts iPhone from US top spot

The iPhone 3G’s dominance of the smartphone market has ended - the BlackBerry Curve 83xx-series topped US smartphone sales in Q1 2009, according to research published by NPD Group. Significant news considering smartphones now account for 23-percent of handset sales.
Over the course of the quarter, Research in Motion's (RIM) share of the smartphone market increased to almost 50 per cent, while Apple and Palm both saw their shares decline by 10 per cent each.
NPD's monthly Smartphone Market Update report, based on online surveys of consumers, now ranks the best-selling consumer smartphones in the U.S. in the following order: RIM BlackBerry Curve, Apple iPhone 3G and RIM BlackBerry Storm
Analysts at NPD put the BlackBerry success down to Verizon’s “aggressive marketing of the BlackBerry Storm”, together with the buy-one-get-one promotion. That, plus its low price and presence at four US national carriers, pushed the Curve ahead.

IBM acquires data analytics company Exeros

IBM announced on Tuesday the acquisition of Exeros, a privately-held company based in California which provides leading data discovery software. Exeros' technology automatically uncovers hidden relationships between databases, helping users make sense of disparate data sources fast. This capability gives businesses new levels of intelligence that can identify new market trends and predict business outcomes with more certainty. It can also dramatically reduce the cost of data-intensive projects such as data warehousing and master data management.
“The combination of IBM and Exeros will enable companies to more intelligently manage their data across all formats and computing platforms, creating a smarter enterprise,” said Ambuj Goyal, general manager, IBM Information Management.
IBM said it will integrate Exeros into its Information Management Software portfolio over the next several months. Financial details were not disclosed.

Hulu to host Disney and ABC programmes as part of equity deal

Disney is set to buy an equity stake in free online video service Hulu in a deal that will put Disney and ABC programmes on the platform for the first time. The move is being hailed as a huge step for Hulu, giving it access to content from three of the four major US broadcast networks. Only CBS programmes are now missing from the platform.
Though Hulu would not confirm the terms of the deal, analysts familiar with the matter claim the station is taking a 30% share in the joint venture.
"By ABC putting in the same share as NBC Universal and News Corp did, Hulu is bigger,” eMarketer analyst David Hallerman commented. “For advertisers and agencies, then, Hulu becomes the single major place where they can do buys for online video advertising across the content of three out of four broadcast networks."
The deal comes as a major blow to YouTube, which was also reportedly negotiating for full-length Disney rights and recently revamped its site with an emphasis on premium content.

Social Media Conference SOMESSO hits London

Google's Wesley Chan, Group Product Manager Google Voice, is the latest high-profile executive announced as a keynote speaker at SOMESSO, the corporate social media conference happening in London next week. Chan joins a top quality list of speakers from companies including XING, SAP, Sony Ericsson, and IBM.
Corporate social media is being increasingly recognised as a vital component of business strategy, bringing a number of benefits from reduced marketing spend to improved internal communications and accelerated R&D. Getting ahead of the technology curve may make the crucial difference to a company as global business evolves to meet the internet age.
The conference will tackle a key question: how can companies leverage new technologies to increase social capital, lower costs, and restructure processes to weather the current storm?
It will bring together the top thinkers and executives in corporate social media around the world to address questions and challenges specific to corporate adoption of social media.
Don't miss out -an exclusive 50 per cent discount has been negotiated for citizens of Entrepreneur Country - register here!

ROK finds future football stars through mobile

ROK Entertainment Group announced the winner of the first of its global football-talent search, ROK Global Soccer Star Tanzania, which uses mobile as the means to reach out and engage with aspiring players.
The competition, sponsored by Vodacom and Motorola, also utilises WAP and web technologies including a dedicated website but the focus is on mobile as it has far greater penetration in the developing world.
Francis Castro, 17 years old and an extremely talented soccer player, beat the 11,000 other aspiring players who trialed across Tanzania last year to win the chance of a professional playing contract in Europe. In his first trip outside Tanzania, Castro is in Belgium for a two week assessment with Cercle Brugge, one of Belgium’s leading football clubs.
More detail on GSS Tanzania 2008 here

IAC acquires Urbanspoon for undisclosed sum

Seattle-based Urbanspoon, the online restaurant guide, has been bought by New York-based internet giant IAC for an undisclosed amount. Urbanspoon, which created the slot machine method of choosing dinner venues on the iPhone, will stay an independent brand based in Seattle. With a market cap of $2.4 billion and dozens of other popular sites under its umbrella, IAC has plenty of resources and experience to back an aggressive growth strategy. The deal closed on February 13, but was kept tightly under wraps.