Author: Shy Mukerjee

Steve Jobs—Visionary and Hero, Rest in Peace

by Shy Mukerjee

What an awful week. You’d think between the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet and the iPhone 4S announcement yesterday we’d have a ton to celebrate here on the site. Unfortunately, not only did one of our team members lose a family member this week but I’m deeply saddened to report that yet another of my personal heroes just passed away.

I’m sure I’m not unlike many of my colleagues here in the tech world when I say that if it weren’t for Steve Jobs and Apple, the company he founded with the ‘other Steve’ Wozniak, I wouldn’t be in the tech world today. In the second grade I learned how to write programs in LOGO on an Apple II, and in middle school I moved on to Apple BASIC. As an adult I’ve owned Powerbooks, iMacs, Macbook Pros, Mac Minis, iPhones, iPads… need I go on?

I didn’t believe it myself until the Wall Street Journal reported that Steve Jobs had passed away, but it’s official—the front page of Apple.com is the image you see above. Being frank, without Steve our industry wouldn’t exist. Steve Jobs sold the public on smaller, more powerful devices. I just got off the phone with Mario, and both of us had literally nothing to say, so I won’t drag this post on any longer than it needs to be. Steve, you’ll be terribly missed. Condolances may be emailed to rememberingsteve@apple.com.

Get Rid of Your Wallet, The Future of Money is Here: Mobile Payments from Mastercard

by Shy Mukerjee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njjREhucsLE

Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to attend MasterCard’s Media Day event in NYC. The invitation was rather vague as to what to expect, though I did know that it concerned mobile payments. What shocked me was that this wasn’t some test demo of a future technology—MasterCard has teamed with Google’s Wallet software, Citi credit cards, and Sprint’s phone network to put together live shopping experiences that we can expect to actually be using in a few weeks. This holiday season, most of us will be pulling out wallets stuffed to the brim with receipts, coupons, wish lists and more. But if you’ve got a supported phone with NFC technology on Sprint, then you could be tapping your cell phone all over the place, making everyone else look distinctly 20th century. Read More

Interested in MasterCard, Google Wallet, and Using Your Phone as Your Credit Card? Then Check This Out.

by Shy Mukerjee

Mario Armstrong is on television and radio all day today bringing people information about MasterCard, Google Wallet, Citibank and Sprint teaming up to create an easy and safe way for people to start ditching their wallets and using their phones as their credit cards! We’re going to be bringing you tons of information about this partnership and what it means to you over the next few weeks, but if you’re coming to the site today and wondering how you can learn more about what’s going on, check out this post about what new services MasterCard is launching, check out Mario’s blog for his take on Google’s Wallet software, and stay tuned for more info!

Is the Amazon Kindle Tablet Running Android Finally Arriving? Press Event September 28th

by Shy Mukerjee

A couple of months ago, staff writer Nick Muntean put together a great piece explaining why Amazon’s Kindle Tablet could be your next Digital Media Center. In his piece, Nick looked at all the different component parts, from Amazon’s Video-on-Demand service that comes free with a Prime subscription to recent Amazon acquisitions. Nick determined that Amazon aren’t just preparing a 21st century eReader, but a device that will take on both the iPad and your media center.

Nobody actually knows what Amazon has up their sleeve and Joanna Stern, writing for ThisIsMyNext, notes that this Amazon event may be about little more than a touchscreen e-ink Kindle. She could be right, but Amazon has taken too many steps towards a real tablet computer this year, especially with their Appstore launch on the Android Marketplace. Plus, MG Siegler actually used one a few weeks ago, lending a lot of credibility to idea that a launch of what he claims is called, simply, the “Amazon Kindle,” is happening very, very soon. Like next week soon.

So tune in next Wednesday to see what we find. The tablet market is shaking up, and we intend to be there with coverage and analysis for you, every step of the way.

Watch the Live Stream from f8, Facebook’s Developer Conference

by Shy Mukerjee

UPDATE: Missed the show? No worries – hit the ‘read more’ button below and catch the replay of today’s event!

Today we’re bringing you the live stream straight from f8, Facebook’s developer conference. Rumors are running rampant about what Facebook will announce today, with leaks last night indicating a new feature that will allow you to listen to your friend’s music live on the site. The conference starts at 10:00 a.m. PDT, (1:00 p.m. EDT) with a keynote from Mark Zuckerberg himself. For any business owner or small biz employee involved in social media and promotion, the future direction of Facebook is something too big to ignore. We’ll be watching the live feed, bringing you the latest updates and analysis via Twitter as well as here on the site. The video will be streaming live, right here on this post, so don’t go anywhere—you’re gonna want to see what Facebook has in store. Read More

CONTEST: Win a Dell Streak 7 Tablet Computer!

by Shy Mukerjee

Contest is now closed

The cold weather here in New York City seems to indicate that the seasons are finally changing. You know what that means: more time indoors with our precious gadgets. But the leaves aren’t the only things coming down from the trees this year: it’s raining tablet computers here at Small Biz Go Mobile. Regular readers have probably noticed that we love to give things away (hopefully some of you have noticed more than that!). For the past few months, we’ve ben giving away eReaders—those fabulous little devices that let you read books, PDFs, and sometimes even your email while on-the-go. But this month, we’re not holding back: if you win this contest, you’re getting a fully-featured Dell Streak 7 tablet, running Google’s Android operating system.

What does that mean for you? You’re gonna be able to do everything on this tablet: composing Word documents and sending them out via email, reading books, PDFs and even opening up those dastardly Excel spreadsheets from accounting. With front- and rear-facing cameras, you’ll be shooting videos of the kids, taking pictures AND videoconferencing with the boss from the comforts of your couch. You’ll be browsing not just some of the web, but all of it with Android’s support for Flash video, animation and games. Speaking of, did I mention that you’ll be playing Angry Birds in glorious HD on this thing? Actually, given how hard some of the levels are, that might be all you’ll be doing!

I honestly can’t imagine why you’re even still reading this blog post. See that obnoxious orange bar at the bottom of the screen, beckoning you enter our contest? Why don’t you go ahead and click it—just don’t forget to come back and leave us a comment about how you’re going to use your brand new tablet computer.

Mobile Mondays: Work Better in a Noise-Free Environment

by Shy Mukerjee

Welcome to Small Biz Go Mobile’s newest feature, Mobile Mondays. Every Monday we’ll be bringing you the latest tips, tricks and gadgets to help you better do business while on-the-go. If you’re anything like us, you’re just as likely to be working from home as you are at the airport or the coffee shop. But none of these places are ideal work environments, are they? Maybe you’re dealing with screaming kids, people talking loudly on their phones, or even just the background noise. When you’re trying to get important work done on-the-go, you need to create a productive atmosphere and reduce distractions. That’s why this week we’re taking a look at a small investment that could make a big impact on your mobile office life: noise canceling headphones. Read More