ReadWriteWeb

Microsoft just updated Bing's mobile interface. The new interface features tabs and is optimized for high-resolution touch-screen devices like the iPhone or Microsoft's own Zune HD. The earlier version of Bing Mobile worked reasonably well, but the interface was rather generic. The new version, on the other hand, makes good use of the iPhone's touch screen when searching for movies, for example. Bing now shows a list of movie posters that you can scroll through with a sideways swipe.

From the company called Peek, the makers of handheld devices dedicated to checking email on-the-go, there now comes another single-purpose gadget, this one for checking Twitter. The new TwitterPeek is a mobile device that lets you access the microblogging network from anywhere in the U.S. with no hefty data fees or contracts to sign, just as the company's original Peek devices let you do with email.

The idea of a standalone Twitter handheld seems so far-fetched that we almost thought it was a joke - at least until we stumbled across this Amazon.com page listing the device for pre-order. Now the question is: who will buy this thing?

Following weeks of requests from open-source developers, HTC has released the Hero Android source code on their developer site.

In response to the mobile devs, HTC has previously stated it was waiting for its own developers to provide the source before releasing it publicly. As late as last week, HTC representatives had emailed developers saying, "At the moment we do not know when the kernel source for the Hero will be released," and "We are still pushing our developers to provide us with the source code and for the links to be added." Since the Android kernel is licensed under the GPL, this delay was creating both dissatisfaction and controversy in the community.

As iPhone and Android users, it's easy to forget that Facebook hasn't been fully optimized for all touchscreen phones. Many of us sit here from the comfort of our sleek mobile applications, never knowing the drudgery that Palm owners have to face as they type in URLs to open their favorite services. Well Palm owners, you're in luck. As of today, Facebook has redesigned its mobile site for touch devices (x.facebook.com and iphone.facebook.com) and launched a new domain name at touch.facebook.com.

The millions of blogs on WordPress.com will now have a clean mobile theme turned on by default, removing most of the formatting and making the sites easy to load on a phone. WordPress bloggers may want to opt-out of the new setting; not everyone likes how the first mobile themes selected by WordPress look.

As we wrote earlier today though, consumers are not happy with how the mobile web is performing. Turning on mobile themes by default could be one small step towards solving that problem in the large territory that is WordPress.

According to mobile marketing firm Brand in Hand, female iPhone users are the worst demographic in terms of interacting with mobile ads on the iPhone. The company, whose high-profile clients include Procter & Gamble, General Mills and American Express, has run 60+ mobile ad campaigns over the past two years. During that time, they've had the opportunity to study the engagement of iPhone users with their ads. So why are women ignoring the ads? Apparently, they're too busy actually using the apps.

Today, Yahoo!Mobile SVP David Ko introduced the company's new mobile homepage calling it "the world's most advanced mobile homepage."

At once rich and simple, the new homepage is accessible by more than 1,900 different mobile devices, which Yahoo! says represents a 500 percent increase since the mobile site launched in April. We checked out the site on a BlackBerry Storm tonight and were impressed by the features Yahoo! is offering for discovery and filtering of content. From tech-related videos to dynamically refreshed news feeds, Yahoo! gives mobile users plenty of room to play.

Back in May, when Google launched a spiffy new suite of search options at their Searchology event, users got a gambit of new tools for exploring different kinds of content posted within different time ranges.

Today, Google has announced that the same options are coming to mobile search. Now, mobile users will have the same options on-the-go as they do when using Google search from their personal computer.

Today, Amazon launched a new service which brings the company's payment processing tools to mobile devices. Called the "Amazon Mobile Payments Service," the technology includes a set of APIs (application programming interfaces) for mobile developers which will allow them to provide payment options to their customers within mobile websites and mobile applications. The new service also allows for integration of Amazon's "1-Click" checkout, the feature that lets customers make purchases using their credit card information stored within their Amazon.com accounts.

Yesterday major electronics retailer Best Buy and internet powerhouse Google announced a partnership designed to help the retailer compete in the mobile sales arena. In addition to other Best Buy strategies for ramping up their mobile division, one key aspect to their multiphase plan involves collaborating with Google on a series of exclusive mobile applications, the first one being a shopping app that helps customers find the item they're looking for within their nearest Best Buy store.

GetJar, a large cross-platform mobile application store, has today launched a new service called the "App Download Page." Designed for companies distributing mobile applications, this page is essentially a mobile-ready web page which automatically detects the make and model of a website visitor's mobile phone in order to identify the correct version of the mobile app they had wanted to download. This makes mobile downloads much easier on consumers who no longer have to try and remember their phone's model number when looking through a download list - the identification is automatic. All the user has to do is click a link.

On the Delicious blog today, the social bookmarking site has announced a slew of enhancements in addition to the usual bug fixes for their most recent release.

From their interactive graphs to their iPhone-optimized mobile site to their tracking of who shares what items when, Delicious is showing a deep understanding of where the real-time web is heading and how traffic in this environment works. They're giving users and content creators the tools they need to optimize for this environment. Read on for a complete list of Delicious' new flavors.

Today, Google announced a new search offering for mobile devices. The redesigned search experience will free handset users from having to type by including browseable categories. Local mobile search will also integrate with saved Google Maps information on a user's computer.

At first glance, this seems to be a great new tool to streamline the flow of information between our online and offline worlds. But how well does Google's new local mobile search work in reality?

Company calls customers in attempt to sell paid version of mobile app

Within iTunes' user ratings section of iPhone application mogoRoad, a real-time traffic monitoring tool available in Switzerland, several users claim to have received phone calls from the development company behind the mobile software. Reportedly, the company is asking the app owners if they would like to purchase the paid version of the application. While unsolicited sales calls are annoying and intrusive, the bigger issue here is how did the company get its customers' phone numbers to begin with? According to mogoRoad, the information came from Apple.

When the Palm Pre debuted, one of its most useful features was its ability to sync with Apple's iTunes software. Unfortunately, how it went about doing this was a little bit underhanded: it pretended to be an iPhone. The most recent version of the hack - yes, there were several - was made possible by Palm's use of Apple's USB hardware vendor code provided by the USB Implementers Forum, an industry standards group. The Pre simply used Apple's code so that iTunes would see the Pre as an Apple device. Apple of course, was not happy, and purposefully broke this functionality in subsequent iTunes software updates. Palm responded by complaining to the Forum, but the group took Apple's side.

Now, finally, the Apple/Palm war seems to have ended. With the latest update to Palm Pre's webOS software, the company has come up with a new tactic altogether: forget about iTunes, use Amazon instead.

Today at the DEMOfall 09 conference, Digitrad announced a new consumer voice service called OrganIP. Although the odd name conjures up ideas of a medical or musical application, we think that perhaps it's supposed to be a play on the word "organize." (Well...maybe.) Names aside, what this new application does is intriguing. It connects you with your social networking friends via your mobile phone or web browser, allowing you to place calls even if you don't know your friend's phone number. In addition, you can use the app to send voicemails or even voice-to-text messages and all you need to know is a person's name.

If you're a smart shopper (and these days, who isn't?), then you probably check the weekly circular for deals and clip out coupons so you can save at the store. Or maybe your coupons arrive digitally, through emails and text messages. But wouldn't it be better if your phone itself could function as the coupon? That's the promise of MoLo Rewards, a wireless coupon application which lets you scan your phone at the point of sale to instantly redeem all your coupons or loyalty rewards using either Near Field Communication (NFC) or Radio Frequency Identification (RFID).

Looking for a new company to get excited about? Look no further than mobile mapping startup, Micello. Their new mapping solution is basically "Google Maps for the indoors." What that means is that instead of focusing on streets and terrain, they're mapping the insides of buildings like shopping malls, convention centers, theme parks, college campuses, and more. And because Micello is a mobile solution, you not only see what's where, you can see where you are, too.

Satoshi Nakajima is the creator of the world's first CAD application for the personal computer. He was a defining force behind both Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 3.0. These days, he's put his mind toward helping mobile developers create revolutionary applications.

Today, Nakajima is launching WidgetPad, a free, collaborative, web-based, open-source mobile development environment where developers can easily create smartphone applications using standard web technologies (such as HTML 5, CSS, and Javascript) and distribute them as stand-alone applications to app stores.

There are those old-fashioned folks who still prefer to talk by phone, believing that "synchronous audio communication" is sometimes better than email or even - gasp - Twitter. The problem is cost, particularly for those not tethered to a land line or a laptop with Skype. Paying for 1,000 cell phone minutes per month is not exactly recession-friendly. So, is there an alternative to jail-breaking your iPhone or waiting for Apple and AT&T to file for divorce? Yes, there is, and I have been using it for a couple of months now in three different countries, and it works a treat. Here is my user report.