Apple’s Siri represents the birth of a new breed of voice-controlled smartphone assistant services, and it is only a matter of time before other companies begin to expand their offerings as a result. While Microsoft and Google undoubtedly work to refine their own voice command services, a new third-party app hits the Android Market on Tuesday that could represent Siri’s first real competition. Cluzee, billed as your intelligent personal assistant, offers Android users a Siri-like service that incl...

During the AsiaD conference in Hong Kong on Wednesday, Google’s Android boss Andy Rubin said his company’s upcoming music store “will have a little twist.” Rubin confirmed Google “won’t just be selling 99 cent tracks,” which suggests it might take a subscription-based approach, or even offer ad-based free listening as Spotify does. Google Music beta already allows users to store up to 20,000 in the cloud. Reportedly, Google is only close to sealing a deal with EMI snd...

Facebook has decided to kill off its Facebook Deals product, a service that was launched to compete with other coupon service providers such as Groupon and LivingSocial. “After testing Deals for four months, we’ve decided to end our Deals product in the coming weeks,” Facebook told Reuters. “We think there is a lot of power in a social approach to driving people into local businesses. We’ve learned a lot from our test and we’ll continue to evaluate how to best serve local b...

T-Mobile introduced a new Android application on Wednesday called “More for Me.” The app offers T-Mobile customers with phones running Android 1.6 or later, daily deals based upon their preferences, location, and interests. Discounts are provided by sites such as LivingSocial, which is available in more than 260 markets, but there are also exclusive discounts from T-Mobile or its partners. T-Mobile customers simply need to install the T-Mobile More for Me app from the Android Market to get started...

On Tuesday evening, Amazon will take the wraps off of MyHabit.com — a new site that will compete directly with Gilt and other membership-only sites that offer discounts on high-end brands. MyHabit will have stiff competition, however, as Vente Privee has largely dominated the international private sales industry and will soon spread into the United States, according to Business Insider. The website will offer up to 60% off of select brands and sales will begin at noon EDT daily. Amazon says that it will off...

Yellow Pages, a subsidiary of AT&T, is launching its own Deals platform that will compete with Groupon and other bargain services, Bloomberg is reporting. The service is live now on YP.com, and AT&T is offering new customers a $10 credit towards their first “Deal of the Day” purchase — provided that you sign up before May 22nd. The carrier says that its Yellow Pages Deals service will be available in Atlanta, Dallas/Forth Worth, and Los Angeles to start, although it will be deployed to m...

In November, Facebook announced its new “Deals” platform that allows users to check-in to various local businesses for discounts. On Tuesday, the social network announced that it’s taking that idea one step further with its new “Deals on Facebook” service — which is currently being tested in Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, San Diego, and San Francisco. Using the Deals on Facebook, friends will be able to see local specials — such as concerts or group discounts at restaurants – and...

AT&T on Monday announced ShopAlerts, a new mobile advertising service that will introduce location-based ads to the AT&T wireless network. The service, developed by AT&T Advanced Ad Solutions and Placecast, will serve advertisements and special offers to subscribers’ cell phones when they are in the vicinity of a participating retailer. Initially, the service is only being offered in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. “We are proud to take mobile marketing into the future ...

Google offered up a whopping $6 billion in an effort to acquire local deal vender Groupon last year, but the Internet giant was rebuffed. $6 billion is quite a healthy amount of scratch, but Groupon apparently thought it could take over the world on its own. Of course the massively successful coupon merchant must have known at that time — just as the rest of the world knew — that Google would certainly not leave well enough alone. Enter “Google Offers.” The aptly named service will be Google&#...

When it comes to the online coupon space, Google wants in. The Internet giant wants in so badly, it was willing to pay $6 billion for the current market leader, Groupon. The huge offer was actually pretty fair considering Groupon’s reported $1 billion in annual revenue, but the deal died on the table and now Google is left searching for other ways to enter the space. According to a report from the New York Post on Tuesday, the company is doing just that — Google is currently on the prowl for a “...

‘Tis the season, we suppose. Motorola’s latest, and most enterprise-focused DROID device has now dropped to the very appealing price of only $49.99 with new two year service agreement from Best Buy Mobile. Both online and physical store locations are offering the deal, and from what we have seen so far, this is the lowest out of the door price for this handset. Now, you’re ultimately going to have to make the call between the DROID Pro or the Motorola DROID 2 Global (if global DROID devices ...

Looking for more excuses to avoid battling the Black Friday crowd? How’s this for a deal: the Dell Mobility Store will pay you $25 to take an HTC DROID Incredible — seriously. Dell is currently offering Verizon Wireless’ HTC DROID Incredible for free with a 2-year activation. Shipping is also free, and Verizon’s activation fee is waived. On top of all that, you’ll get a complimentary $25 Dell gift card with your order. We’re not sure there’s a better deal to be found righ...

Facebook today announced the introduction of its mobile platform. The purpose of the project is to provide a social environment for mobile devices that will eventually mirror the company’s dominant Web-based platform. The initial mobile platform involves a number of projects across a variety of mobile operating systems — including iOS, Android and BlackBerry — and it will allow developers to more easily expand their Facebook products beyond the desktop environment.Platform announcements made today i...

This week’s specials are in, and the folks over at your local Best Buy Mobile location have a few solid treats in store. Free Phone Friday, for those who failed Obvious 101, is a promotion that gives customers a new selection of free phones each week in October… on Friday. Here is this week’s lot:Samsung Fascinate (Verizon Wireless)BlackBerry Bold 9700 (AT&T)Sanyo Zio (Sprint)BlackBerry Bold 9700 (T-Mobile)As you might imagine, each phone requires a new 2-year contract to be had for the ...