Barclays Pingit is a new money-sending service launched by one of UK’s largest bank. Using it, some 1.9 million Barclays’ customers are able to make instant money transfers to anyone with a UK-based mobile phone and a current account with any UK bank. And that’s like a start with Barclays promising to extend Pingit to all UK banking customers by early March.
Available as a free download, the application works on the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry smartphones and allows users to both send and receive cash from their smartphone. However, any mobile phone user whether he/she have Barclays Pingit installed can receive the cash.
According to Antony Jenkins (chief executive of Barclays retail and business banking), Barclays’ Pingit could “revolutionize the way people send and receive money,” envisioning an array of uses such as splitting a bill in a restaurant, repaying a borrowed 10 GBP or people sending money to a son or daughter at university.
At the moment, the cash transfers are limited to 300 GBP and I guess that’s about the right figure to make it safe for the mass-market to adopt Pingit.
Barclays Pingit (FREE) [iTunes link] [Android Market link] [BlackBerry App World]


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We all know Samsung will rollout the Android 4.0 update for its super-popular Galaxy S II smartphone later this year. However, Sprint customers may be wondering whether they’ll have to wait longer, since their particular version of the device (Epic 4G Touch) is specific, made to sing along the carrier’s WiMAX network. Plus, Sprint (and other mobile operators for that matter) always want to test the phone software thoroughly before releasing it to the general public, the process that usually ends-up in prolonged wait time for the end-users.
The good news is that we have a proof that the Korean company is working on the new software for the Epic 4G Touch that will include the latest version of Android. The information comes from XDA-Developers’ member kc_exactly who noticed an RDF page for the Epic 4G Touch, listing an OS version of Android 4.0.3. Unfortunately, that page doesn’t tell us anything about the exact launch date, so we’ll have to wait a little longer to get that information as well. Needless to say, we’ll be scattering through the Interwebs and let you know as soon as we have something new to report on this subject…




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YouMail, the company behind the popular visual voice-mail service, launched a new service to allow any owner of a US phone number to control their personal brand through caller ID. In that sense, the company launched a new website at who.youmail.com where users can enter their phone number and see what their current caller ID says. Then, if they don’t like what they see, update it by connecting to Facebook and/or filling out a simple form. From then on, any call to anyone in the YouMail network will display the information they provide.
YouMail’s network consists of well over 2 million registered users of its YouMail Visual Voicemail Plus and WhoAreYou applications, which together have had over 100 million unique callers and handle over 50 million calls each month. These users all have “Visual Caller ID” that identifies callers with a name, city/state information, and a representative image, such as a Facebook photo or business logo, even when the calling number is not found in the user’s address book…


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LG unveiled a new logo for its Optimus smartphones (and tablets), designed to “accentuate the metallic edges and slim shape of the 2012 smartphone line-up.” Moreover, the logo is said to “embody modern and seamless simplicity,” which is apparently the core for LG’s design philosophy for mobile devices.
And the new logo is just a start – the Korean company is also preparing to launch “superior smartphones” that “bring design prestige” to users seeking aesthetic beauty on technological devices.
Yup, we are looking forward to see what LG is up to for this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Can’t wait to hit the ground.

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Think you’ve had your fill of Angry Birds with Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio, and Angry Birds Facebook? Think again as Rovio has just announced the next Angry Birds game, Angry Birds Space, is a little over a month away from release on multiple mobile platforms.
Information on Angry Birds Space is scarce at the moment, but we do know one thing is for sure: it’ll be taking place in space. OK, that was a bit obvious. We also know Rovio is planning on a huge marketing blitz as well as making the game available across a number of platforms, both mobile and non, as well as animation and retail. What does all of this mean? It means on March 22nd, Angry Birds Space is planning on taking over the world!
With the next Angry Birds game taking place in space, there will surely be a number of physics related challenges to complete, especially when you factor in the weightlessness of space. We also know the birds will have some trick up their sleeves as power-ups allowing the birds to manipulate time and space will be made available. Hopefully this next Angry Birds game will make Rovio even more rich and famous so we can use our trip to their office as a way to get in good with the ladies.

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The wildly popular social networking giant, Facebook, plans to generate $1.2 billion from mobile advertising, according to UK-based analyst firm Mobile Squared.
This bit of news has circulated for some time now, as we recently reported the social networking site was working on bringing ads to smartphones and tablets in the near future. The $1.2 billion a year estimate was calculated by future earnings from major markets, such as the United States and all of Europe — the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Potential revenue for all five countries were dissected in following order: The United States will account for roughly half of the $1.2 billion, at $653.7 million in 12 months, with the United Kingdon bringing in $166.6 million, $100 million in France, Germany and Italy, and $70 million in Spain.
The analyst firm broke the numbers down even further, suggesting that Facebook stands to make around $6.50 per year off every mobile user, which is a $2 increase compared to what it makes from online users. The only catch to this new potentially successful revenue stream is it will depend heavily on mobile display-style ads.
Truth is, when it comes to presenting ads, we don’t know which direction Facebook will ultimately go. Some have suggested traditional display ads, that appear in a user’s timeline, or something different like ads as sponsored stories. The company is thinking of new ways to bring on more investors, especially after its recent IPO filing.
This might come off as bad news for those who are loyal Facebookers, but if you love using the service for free then you’ll have to deal with the reality of Facebook being covered in ads.

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