MOBILE INSIGHTS: One In Ten Transactions At Starbucks In U.S. Is Made On Smartphones

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Mobile Payments Play Big Role In Starbucks Sales Growth (Wall Street Journal)
Starbucks recorded a company-best quarterly performance this past quarter. Overall U.S. sales grew 9%. It also claimed that 10% of its total transactions originated from a smartphone. Starbucks has been a leader in the mobile payments space, partnering with mobile payments company Square. It seems the collaboration is off to a successful start. Read >

Zynga Q2 Earnings Results Show Continued Struggles (TechCrunch)
Zynga reported its second quarter results. The social gaming company posted a revenue decline of 31% year-over-year as well as a net loss of about $16 million. Its inability to convert its portfolio of games to the mobile platform has been the biggest issue for the company over the past year. Now, it faces greater competition in the mobile arena from King (Candy Crush Saga) and Kabam. The major launch of Draw Something 2 failed to bring in an audience. The game never reached a top 100 ranking across app store charts. Read >

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Zynga Decides To Abandon Real-Money Games In The U.S. (All Things Digital)
Because of the poor showing, Zynga is reconsidering its strategy in the U.S. by discontinuing its real-money games. It has decided to focus instead on free-to-play social games. Read >

Amazon Kindle Fire Surprises (GigaOm)
In its second quarter earnings release, Amazon highlighted the success of its Kindle e-reader and Kindle Fire HD tablets. It reported that its top 10 selling items were all products tied to the Kindle ecosystem, anchored by its lineup of tablets and e-readers. Read >

Apple's Secret Weapon: The iPhone 4 (Wall Street Journal)
Apple continues to dominate the U.S. smartphone landscape, but has had trouble fending off competition from Android-powered devices in emerging markets. Its smartphone mix, which now consists of the cheaper iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S, is helping Apple win over some first-time smartphone buyers in markets like China and India. Read >

For Music Fans, Google Chromecast Is No Apple Airplay (Gizmodo)
Yesterday, Google debuted its Chromecast product, a dongle that plugs directly into an HD TV monitor and allows consumers to stream content from a PC, tablet, or smartphone. The new product generated the biggest wow-factor amid a flurry of Google announcements, but Gizmodo looks beyond the hype and examines a couple drawbacks, particularly with music streaming. Read >

The End: Barnes & Noble In Silicon Valley (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Businessweek surveys Barnes&Noble's venture from bricks-and-mortar bookstore chain into the digital and mobile age, and their attempt to challenge stalwarts like Amazon and Apple in the tablet market. Read >

Cars Vs. Trucks (Andrew Parker)
Andrew Parker of Spark Capital in Boston cleverly compares the mobile vs. personal computing movement to a prevailing trend in the auto industry, trucks vs. cars. People will always want PCs (trucks) for various reasons, but smartphones (cars) have become the more efficient day-to-day computing option. Read >

BlackBerry Fired 250 People Today (Business Insider)
BlackBerry laid off 250 of its employees in its research and development and manufacturing divisions. BlackBerry has struggled recently to find an audience for its new flagship devices and operating system. Read >

Yahoo Plugs Fantasy Sports Games Into Updated Mobile App (The Next Web)
Fantasy sports are a huge industry, and Yahoo is attempting to attract a wider audience through its latest mobile app. The app allows for mobile drafting and will keep users up to date on their teams with notifications. Read >