“A leaked document Facebook sent to some of its biggest advertisers reveals that Facebook will launch ads within Messenger in Q2 2016,” TechCrunch reported Friday.

Not surprisingly, some users — most, as far as we can tell — aren’t thrilled by the idea. But if they want to keep using Messenger for free, they may have to get used to it, assuming the report is based on facts.
For now, Facebook hasn’t confirmed or denied the alleged plan.

The document, obtained by TechCrunch but kept private to protect its verified source, says businesses will be able to send ads as messages to people who previously initiated a chat thread with that company.

To “prepare” for the forthcoming opportunity, the document reportedly encourages businesses to get consumers “to start message threads with them now so they’ll be able to send them ads when the feature launches.”

How do you feel about Messenger being used to send ads to your inbox?

The post Facebook Messenger: The Bearer of Ad News? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Ahead of the weekend, Yahoo provided further details about its previous announcement that its Board of Directors is exploring strategic alternatives alongside its continued consideration of a reverse spin.

The Board, we’re told, has “formed a Strategic Review Committee of independent directors” to lead this effort, with the assistance and support of management.

According to a news release from Yahoo:

The Strategic Review Committee has engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. Inc., J.P. Morgan and PJT Partners Inc. as its financial advisors, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP as its legal advisor. The Strategic Review Committee and its advisors are establishing a process for outreach to and engagement with potentially interested strategic and financial parties. The Strategic Review Committee will recommend to the Board whether any proposed transaction is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders.

“The Board recently formed an independent committee to conduct a process to evaluate strategic alternatives for the company. We have hired excellent advisors and are working closely and in alignment with management to pursue an effective process,” said Maynard Webb, Yahoo’s Chairman of the Board. “The Board is thoroughly committed to exploring strategic alternatives while simultaneously supporting management and the employees in their implementation of Yahoo’s strategic plan. We believe that pursuing these complementary paths is in the best interests of our shareholders and will maximize value.”

The post What’s Next for Yahoo? Board of Directors Forms Independent Committee to Figure it Out appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The new resources and talent should help Apple give companies the ability to run advanced artificial intelligence systems on iPhones and iPads, for example, without requiring them to share massive sums of user data.

Apple confirmed the acquisition to Bloomberg but would not reveal terms of the deal.

“Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans,” a company statement to the press reads.

As Bloomberg noted, Apple was recently candid about its decision to acquire a U.K.-based software startup “that made AI technology to create Siri-like digital personal assistants capable of having longer conversations.”

The post Quiet to the Core: Apple Acquires Startup Without Fanfare appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

As far as we can tell, however, the rumor mill has already figured out what to expect.

Later this morning, Apple will likely raise the curtain on iPhone 6s, watch OS 2, OS X 10.11 El Capitan, and — if there are any big “surprises” in store — possibly a new Apple TV.

“The market pretty much figured this out,” says tech industry watcher Brian M. Seahwell. “Apple really isn’t going to break any molds next week, but that’s not to say we won’t be impressed by the upgrades in store.”

If Apple really does have “one more thing” to surprise us with, we won’t have to wait long for it. The press event kicks off today at 10 a.m. PST. Apple will have a live stream available on its website for iOS, Mac, and Windows 10 users.

The post The Stage is Set: Apple to Unveil Next-Gen iPhone and More Today appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

While Amazon remains insanely successful in an array of other business ventures, the ecommerce king may be considering a departure from all things Fire phone in the near future.

‘Amazon.com Inc. flamed out with critics and consumers last year in its first attempt at a smartphone,” the WSJ reports. “Now, rather than forge ahead, as it has with other projects, such as its Kindle tablets, the online retailer is retrenching.”

In recent weeks Amazon has dismissed dozens of engineers who worked on its Fire phone at Lab126, its secretive hardware-development center in Silicon Valley, according to people familiar with the matter. The layoffs were the first in the division’s 11-year history, these people said.

For now, Amazon has no comment on the rumors and speculation.

So… should Amazon exit the smartphone space? You be the judge.

The post Amazon Can’t Stand the ‘Fire,’ So It May Get Out of the Kitchen appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

If you’ve lost track of how long it’s been since the last Apple TV hardware update, try March of 2012.

On Thursday, Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster dished on the matter with investors saying that he, too, believes it’s now likely Apple will refresh its set-top box next month.

“Munster said there is just a 50 percent chance that Apple will launch its live streaming video offering in the September event,” writes Mark Meadows of Benzinga. “But, when it does, that video offering will likely include the major network channels alongside certain cable offerings like ESPN, AMC, TNT and TBS. This would put Apple in direct competition with DISH Network Corp’s Sling, which launched earlier this year.”

It is believed that Apple will also introduce a new Apple TV App Store at the same time.

The post Apple to Roll Out New Apple TV Next Month? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

That heads-up comes via BuzzFeed News — and we’ll keep you posted with any updates.

“Apple hasn’t sent out invitations just yet, but people familiar with Apple’s plans told BuzzFeed’s John Paczkowski that it will happen during the week of September 7,” reports BusinessInsider. “These sources reportedly said that Wednesday, September 9, is the most likely date for the event.”

Interestingly, that’s the same date Apple unveiled the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus last year.

“Apple is also planning to introduce several other new products, such as the Apple TV set-top box that was supposed to debut in June as well as the rumored iPad Pro that we’ve heard it’s been testing for years,” according to BusinessInsider.

Apple’s iPhone 6S — “as it’s expected to be called” — will most likely be the main attraction. It’s expected to come complete with Apple’s pressure sensitive Force Touch technology screen, a faster A9 processor, and a beefed-up camera.

The post Here’s the Buzz: Apple’s Next iPhone Could Be Unveiled September 9 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Let’s hear from a writer at ExtremeTech who provided the latest tasty bit:

“There are certain tech rumors that make the rounds so regularly, you could almost write the stories in advance. Every year, someone is going to buy AMD, graphene is just around the corner thanks to one major breakthrough or another, OLED televisions are finally going to hit the mass market at near-LCD prices (I cry inside every time this one turns out to be untrue) and, inevitably, Microsoft is going to give up on Windows Phone10 Mobile and make Android devices.”

The rumor came by way of a Twitter user and known leaker MSNerd. His tweet suggested that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is discussing the option of dropping Windows Mobile altogether and instead licensing Android for use in smartphones and handsets.

“To be fair, this is not an entirely crazy idea,” opines ExtremeTech. “If the original Windows Mobile had a much higher market share than it deserved, Windows Phone has had the opposite problem — it deserves more users than it actually has, based on the overall quality of the OS.”

The actual tweet?

“Nadella and the SLT debating continuing Windows on phones and small tablets vs bundling Microsoft services on Android as the way forward,” MSNerd said. “Microsoft would push Google Play devices with Microsoft apps in exchange for Google providing first-class Maps, YouTube, Search on Windows.”

Look, since Microsoft’s signature mobile platform has a measly 2.6 percent of the market, it doesn’t shock anyone that the company might be angling to fix something, anything.

In fact, Satya Nadella made headlines recently for a memo in which he declared Microsoft would have to make hard choices around its product stack.

“The company announced the sale of some of its mapping platform to Uber not long after,” notes ExtremeTech. “The company’s mobile advertising business, meanwhile, will now be handled by AOL.”

Yes, it’s a rumor. But we’ll keep watching it.

The post Rumors, We Hear Rumors: Could Microsoft Ditch Windows Mobile and Peddle Android? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The rumor suggests its a possibility. And now sources tell The Wall Street Journal the same thing.

According to published reports this week, Dish Network representatives are engaged with positive and progressing talks with leaders at T-Mobile about a possible deal.

“The two sides are in close agreement about what the combined company would look like,” the WSJ says. “Tougher questions about a purchase price and the mix of cash and stock that would be used to pay for a deal remain unresolved.”

T-Mobile spent much of last year in talks to be acquired by Sprint. Those talks fell apart after federal regulators—insistent on preserving four national wireless carriers—repeatedly signaled they would block a deal.

For now, sources say that talks with Dish Network are in “the formative stage” but by no means is the merger a done deal.

The post Rumor Mill Points to Dish Network Merger with T-Mobile appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

We’re told that the WWDC 2015 keynote will bring with it an announcement from Apple that it will challenge the likes of Spotify and Pandora head-on in the streaming music market.

The service will reportedly cost $10 per month.

“Unlike Spotify, Apple won’t let listeners stream its entire music catalog on demand free of charge,” the WSJ reports. “But it plans to augment its free, ad-supported Internet radio service with channels programmed and hosted by human DJs.”

Apple can aggressively push its hundreds of millions of iTunes customers—most with credit cards already registered with the company—to embrace a subscription model on the same devices where they listen to downloaded songs and albums.

WWDC 2015 kicks off June 8th.

The post Apple’s Next Venture Won’t Be Music to the Ears of Spotify, Pandora appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.