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Category: Mobile

Urban Airship rapidly ascends with $1.1 million in funding

Urban Airship – which provides infrastructure for mobile messaging services like Apple Push Notifications for iPhones – has secured $1.1 million in funding, led by True Ventures.

Rick Turoczy on February 16, 2010

[HTML2]It’s not often that I get to break news. So I always tend to cherish the few moments that I do. And this one is special for any number of reasons. One, it’s a Portland startup in the mobile space. Two, they’re receiving a respectable amount of funding to continue doing what they do, faster. Three, it’s a company that’s less than a year old pulling in seven figures of cash. And four, these are people I’m lucky enough to see almost every day.

That’s a lot of reasons to be happy. So I couldn’t be more ecstatic to finally announce that Urban Airship—the company that supports the mobile development community by providing infrastructure for mobile messaging services like Apple Push Notifications for iPhones—has secured $1.1 million in funding, led by True Ventures. Read More

Urban Airship: More than 100 million push notifications served

Last night around 5 PM, Portland-based Urban Airship had their Apple Push Notification Service odometer roll over to 100 million push notifications served.

Rick Turoczy on February 5, 2010

Startups need milestones. They need goals. And indicators of progress. And sometimes, they need to take a moment to stop and revel in some ridiculously huge numbers that remind them that what they’re doing might—just maybe—have hit upon that idea that will change the world.

For Portland-based Urban Airship, this is one of those times. Read More

REMINDER: Mobile Portland explores augmented reality tonight

Augmented reality. So it simply makes sense that Mobile Portland—the best user group for mobile types—is providing some insight into augmented reality, tonight.

Rick Turoczy on January 25, 2010

If you ask me—not that you did but let’s just pretend—what the hottest topic in the Portland startup scene is, I would be compelled—nay obligated—to say “Mobile.” And I would probably punctuate that with something terribly intelligent like, “… duh.”

But it’s true. Portland is crazy about mobile development. As such, it has managed to carve out a community that is doing some incredibly compelling things. And one of the most interesting new facets of mobile development? Augmented reality. So it simply makes sense that Mobile Portland—the best user group for mobile types—is providing some insight into augmented reality, tonight. Read More

Indie Relief: Use your app buying addiction to help Haiti (TODAY ONLY!)

The concept is simple: buy any of these iPhone apps or Mac apps on January 20 and all proceeds will be donated to relief in Haiti.

Rick Turoczy on January 20, 2010

There are any number of programs currently underway to help the folks in Haiti. But there’s one little project that features some Portland types that really caught my eye: Indie Relief. Probably because there are some awesome Portland startups participating in it.

The concept is simple: buy any of these iPhone apps or Mac apps on January 20 and all proceeds will be donated to relief in Haiti. Read More

Black Friday’s best deals? They’re likely on dealdar

If you’ve got a mobile handset, a simple yet effective Portland-based mobile site called dealdar could help you find the deal on that gift you’ve been seeking—at a better price than you had hoped

Rick Turoczy on November 24, 2009

We’re easing into what will easily be one of the most watched “Friday after Thanksgiving”s—Black Friday—in ages. Will the economy rebound? Will people stay home? Will it be a whimper or a roar?

At this point, it’s hard to say. But one thing is for sure: if you’ve got a mobile handset, a simple yet effective Portland-based mobile site called dealdar could help you find the deal on that gift you’ve been seeking—at a better price than you had hoped. Read More

ccSync: Bringing the chatroom and IRC dynamic to SMS with group texting

With Portland-based ccSync, suddenly your text messages begin to resemble a chatroom or IRC. Every message goes to every person in the group. Voila. Group SMS.

Rick Turoczy on November 18, 2009

[Full disclosure: I have consulted with ccSync in the past before they reconfigured their product offering. I was pre-briefed on the launch of this product, but I have not been involved in the launch planning.]

For all the cool Web apps, iPhone apps, and mobile technologies, few things beat SMS for market penetration. That’s what makes it so great. Next to actually calling someone on the phone—but I mean, who does that?—texting is the easiest way to communicate with folks. Because practically anyone carrying a phone in their pocket can send and receive SMS messages—so long as their data plan I allows it.

So as far as having SMS? Great. But using SMS only works for very particular applications. Like one-to-one conversations. If you want to use that technology to communicate with three different people, you’re going to wind up sending that message three different times.

If only there were some way to talk to a group of people—in a controlled confidential way, not a public Twitter way—using this nearly ubiquitous technology. Well, now there is. Introducing ccSync. Read More

Socially mobile: Jive releases Social Business Software 4.0, iPhone app, and BlackBerry and smart phone functionality

Not only did Jive upgrade their core product to Social Business Software 4.0, they also made it more accessible by releasing apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry platforms.

Rick Turoczy on October 28, 2009

Portland-based Jive Software is currently in the midst of their first ever user group, Jive World. And as such, it seems that there is no better time to launch new products—especially when you’ve got all of your most fervent users together in one room.

So that’s just what they did. Not only did Jive upgrade their core product to Social Business Software 4.0, they also made it more accessible by releasing an app for the iPhone and functionality for BlackBerry and smart phones. Read More

Want to listen to pdx.fm on your iPhone? There isn’t an app for that—by design

No, you won’t, silly imaginary person. You see, it’s not an app. pdx.fm is a Web page that uses Quicktime to deliver the content to iPhones.

Rick Turoczy on October 20, 2009

When I wrote about pdx.fm launching an Internet radio station, I got a lot of people who were excited about the concept. And then, a quizzical look would cross their face and they’d scrunch up their brow and ask, “It sounds like a good idea and I love the content. But how the heck am I supposed to listen to that in the car?”

Okay. Actually nobody said that. I just made it up. People said the first two things, just not the whole “in the car” thing. It’s a literary device. I was trying to make a point.

What’s that? Oh right. The point. The point being that if there were people who had said something like that—and honestly there should have been—I would now be able to answer them with this.

“If you’ve got an iPhone,” I’d say. “You can use pdx.fm mobile.” Read More

REMINDER: Mobile Portland talks SMS, MMS, and short codes tonight

Rick Turoczy on September 28, 2009

Last week, iPhone users were all atwitter about upgrading to use MMS, the next generation of SMS messaging that allows messages to carry a bigger payload. That means the iPhone users can finally send attachments like images and audio along with the traditional text messages.

And while the rest of the mobile handset world may be scratching their heads as to why this is big news, it’s relatively certain that this new wave of iPhone users will be jumping on the MMS format—and likely taxing the already overburdened mobile infrastructure.

What’s a mobile developer to do? Attend Mobile Portland tonight of course. Read More

Azplode: Missile Command aficionados rejoice, your iPhone app is here

Rick Turoczy on August 25, 2009

If you grew up in the 80s or spent any time at Ground Kontrol, you’ve been there. You’re sitting there on Missile Command, blood blister on the side of your hand from catching it in the trackball, one missile launch area remaining, one missile, and a ton of inbound targets quickly descending on your last bastion of defense. And yet, you’re overcome by an almost Zen-like state of calm. Knowing full well that one well-placed missile could create a chain reaction of explosions that will carry you through to the next level.

That’s feeling right there? That’s Azplode, the latest game from Portland-based iPhone developer Calvin Rien. Hopefully, without the blood blisters. Read More

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