Monday Mobile Roundup: RIM, iPhone Rumors & More

Melanoma-Detecting App SkinScan Raises 50,000 Euros -- This iPhone medical app, which took funding from SeedMoney, takes a picture of a mole and then uses a proprietary algorithm to look at the fractal-like shapes which exist in human skin. It then calculates if the shape of the mole means it is is developing normally, or abnormally thus in a into a potential cancerous melanoma. More Developers Leave RIM -- More application developers are jumping the BlackBerry ship. Developers Seesmic, Mobile Roadie, and Purple Forge Corp., have all said that they have stopped making products for RIM, with the latter only doing so should customers request it, according to Bloomberg. The reasoning is simply because the growth of iOS and Android are so much greater that "you have to put your resources where the growth is," says Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur. Google Fine Leads to App Suspensions in Taiwan -- The Next Web has noted that Google has received a fine for 1 million Taiwanese dollars ($35,000) from the Taipei City Government in Taiwan for not extending the trial periods of its app downloads. The issue stemmed from complaints that users could not claim refunds for apps they deemed unsatisfactory. Since the fine, the download of paid apps via the Android Market have been suspended. Tesco Gets Creative With Mobile Barcodes -- In order to compete with larger competitors in South Korea, British grocery chain Tesco has employed smartphones and barcodes with its existing delivery service, says GoMo News. In a subway station, Tesco has created a display replicating that of a convenience store with various food products whose QR codes can be scanned with a smartphone and purchased, then be delivered to one's house. Chinese Mobile Ad Expenditure to Hit $1.4 Billion by 2015 -- Chinese research firm iResearch has taken data from eMarketer and graphed out a drastically rising growth in mobile spending in China. For 2010, its mobile advertising expenditure equated to $223 million, but should trends continue, is estimated to be worth $1.39 billion come 2015; well ahead of other members of BRIC. [image via iResearch] [Rumor] iPhone 5 & iPhone 4S Coming Later This Year -- Rumor has it that both an iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S could be coming out later this year. According to Beutsche Bank's Chris Whitmore, via Fortune, "with Nokia and RIM struggling, the time is right for Apple to aggressively penetrate the mid range smartphone market (i.e. $300-500 category) to dramatically expand its [total addressable market] and market share." [Rumor] Apple to Remove Samsung Components -- According to Ars Technica, the relationship between Apple and Samsung has reached a breaking point, as the former will be removing the Samsung-built A5 and A6 processors from their supply chain. The A6 chip is expected to be seen in 2012, and the likely production candidate is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). Casey's Contraptions Post-Mortem -- When it first released the physics-based puzzle game of Casey's Contraptions rose rapidly up the top charts doing well in both the top paid and top grossing lists. However, a succesful game is not exactly easy to make, and as such developers Noel Llopis and Miguel Ángel Friginal have shared the game's post-mortem document via Gamasutra. Launch: Tour de France Coming to iOS -- The Tour de France is set to start next Saturday, and French studio Extra Live is launching a new iOS game to go with it. Le Tour de France 2011 - The Official Game will launch on iOS June 30th and allow players to build their own team of racers and utilize cycling tactics (drafting, relaying, sprinting, etc.) to defeat non-player opponents and compare times with others via leaderboards. The game is also slated for release on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on July 1st. Launch: Marathon Coming to iPad -- Games developer Bungie, the creators of Halo, have announced that one of its classic games will be coming to iPad. The 1994-released first-person shooter of Marathon will be coming to iPad in the next few weeks, and is noted to be free-to-play.

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Monday Mobile Roundup: RIM, iPhone Rumors & More

Christopher Mack

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