online news

Acquisition to Increase Addressable Online Market, Give Consumers Control of Where Packages are Delivered and Drive Store Traffic for Partner Retailers

Zynga (Nasdaq:ZNGA), the world's leading provider of social game services, today announced it has acquired New York-based social game developer OMGPOP, makers of the popular cultural hit mobile game, Draw Something, and over 35 additional social games.

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq:INTU) today released the second of three season-to-date updates for its fiscal year 2012 consumer tax offerings. Through March 17, total TurboTax federal units were up 8 percent compared to the same period last year. Also through March 17, TurboTax Online units were up 14 percent, while desktop units decreased 3 percent compared to the same period last year.

Wii owners with broadband Internet access now have a new way to watch their favorite TV shows and movies. Starting today, Wii owners can subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 a month and instantly stream current-season hit TV shows such as Family Guy, Glee, New Girl, Vampire Diaries, The Office, The Biggest Loser and Modern Family, as well as full back seasons of hit shows like Community and Grey’s Anatomy.

Netvibes brings Dashboard Intelligence to Dassault Systèmes’ 3DExperience platform, enabling companies to Listen, Learn and Act in real-time—on the Web and inside the Enterprise—like never before

With more than 9.3 million registered users and partnerships now with 21 different publishers, Origin, the direct-to-consumer gaming platform from Electronic Arts (EA) Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) has quickly become one of the industry’s leading online game services in just over two quarters since launch. 

 Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI), through its strategic investment arm Motorola Mobility Ventures, today announced that it has invested in Shaker, the award-winning start-up that recreates social experiences online.

The line-up kicks off on February 14 with the launch of Hulu’s first original scripted series, “Battleground,” executive produced by JD Walsh, Hagai Shaham and Marc Webb (“The Amazing Spiderman”, “500 Days of Summer”).

Living in Digital Times today announced the winners of the most highly anticipated award events at CES that honors the hottest products and mobile apps. The Lytro camera has been named the winner of Last Gadget Standing; and the Magisto mobile video editing app has won the Mobile Apps Showdown at 2012 International CES.

InfoSpace, Inc.(NASDAQ: INSP), a leader in online search, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TaxACT, a leading provider of online tax solutions, for $287.5 million in cash. The acquisition is subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2012.

Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), the premier digital media company, today announced the appointment of Scott Thompson as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 9, 2012, at which time Tim Morse will resume his role as Chief Financial Officer.

Zynga Inc. today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock at a price to the public of $10.00 per share. In addition, certain of Zynga’s stockholders have granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15,000,000 shares to cover over-allotments, if any. Zynga will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

In its new Traffic and Market Data report, which provides insights into current trends, Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) forecasts a 10-fold increase in mobile data traffic by 2016. The report is based on measurements the company recorded over several years in live networks covering all regions of the world.

Samsung Electronics America today announced the launch of Samsung Nation, its first social loyalty program. Available on the Samsung U.S. website, the program rewards consumers by enhancing their online experience with Samsung.

My Game Frog releases Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 on November 8th this year and will be available for preorder. Gamers can expect the same features since the start of the game series. Modern Warfare 3 offers a multi-player co-op and multi-player control.

Online auction and retail website eBay has recently launched a consultation with its sellers, asking them for their thoughts on how the company should provide customer service in the future, in a bid to improve people’s experience.

Research In Motion (RIM) (NASDAQ: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today announced BlackBerry® Business Cloud Services for Microsoft Office 365 – a new RIM-hosted online service for midsized businesses and enterprises that extends Microsoft Exchange Online to BlackBerry® smartphones, and allows organizations to self-manage their BlackBerry deployments in the cloud. An open beta for the service is launching today in over 30 countries.

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 120 million members worldwide, today announced more than one million professional members in Belgium.

International Data Group (IDG) is taking its digital marketing programs to the mobile web in a global initiative that recognizes how fast IT users are buying smartphones and tablets. IDG brands have adapted 165 products for mobile users worldwide. A dozen products and services are part of Mobile@IDG™,a set of both existing and new offerings.

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced that Adobe® SearchCenter+, a comprehensive search marketing management system within the Adobe Online Marketing Suite, has added keyword performance predictive analytics through a partnering agreement with OptiMine Software, Inc.