Dropbox acquires mailbox

Dropbox announced that it is acquiring Mailbox, one of the hottest app on Apple’s app store offering mobile-first email experience. Mailbox is Palo Alto based startup that began as Orchestra To-Do list was founded by Gentry Underwood and Scott Cannon.  Orchestra To-do was the App Store’s 2011 Productivity App of the Year.

Announcing the acquisition of Mailbox, Dropbox said

making Mailbox even better and getting it into as many people’s hands as possible. There’s so much to do and we’re excited to get started!

Mailbox said in its website that it is not going away and

The product needs to grow fast, and we believe that joining Dropbox is the best way to make that happen. Imagine what cool things you could do if your Mailbox was connected to your Dropbox.

Although Dropbox did not reveal the financial details of the Mailbox acquisition, Gigaom and TechCrunch claim that Dropbox shelled out more than 50 million, closer to 100 million for Mailbox. And Mailbox was in talks with Yahoo first and Facebook later, before Dropbox acquired.

Dropbox Acquires MailBox

People of Groupon,

After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I’ve decided that I’d like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding — I was fired today. If you’re wondering why … you haven’t been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that’s hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable.

You are doing amazing things at Groupon, and you deserve the outside world to give you a second chance. I’m getting in the way of that. A fresh CEO earns you that chance. The board is aligned behind the strategy we’ve shared over the last few months, and I’ve never seen you working together more effectively as a global company — it’s time to give Groupon a relief valve from the public noise.

For those who are concerned about me, please don’t be — I love Groupon, and I’m terribly proud of what we’ve created. I’m OK with having failed at this part of the journey. If Groupon was Battletoads, it would be like I made it all the way to the Terra Tubes without dying on my first ever play through. I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to take the company this far with all of you. I’ll now take some time to decompress (FYI I’m looking for a good fat camp to lose my Groupon 40, if anyone has a suggestion), and then maybe I’ll figure out how to channel this experience into something productive.
If there’s one piece of wisdom that this simple pilgrim would like to impart upon you: have the courage to start with the customer. My biggest regrets are the moments that I let a lack of data override my intuition on what’s best for our customers. This leadership change gives you some breathing room to break bad habits and deliver sustainable customer happiness — don’t waste the opportunity!

I will miss you terribly.

Love,
Andrew

Best Buy Offers $50 Discount on iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S

Best Buy is offering $50 discount on iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S just for today and tomorrow Martin Luther Kind Day. With the $50 discount, now

• 16GB iPhone 5 costs $149.99
• 32GB iPhone 5 costs $249.99
• 16GB iPhone 4s costs $49.99

To find the two-day special deal on iPhone, go here and click at “Mobile phones” and look for iPhone deals.

Sony Xperia Z

Sony’s Xperia Z also has a new battery STAMINA mode that can can improve standby time by more than four times. The 4G LTE smartphone’s display is water and dust free. Watch the commercial below, where a dirty Xperia Z is washed off with a glass of water. Sony said Xperia Z will launch globally in the first quarter of 2013 in three colors; black, white, and purple.

Initially, the Sony Xperia Z will run on Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean) and will be upgraded to 4.2 shortly after launch. Sony also launched Xperia ZL model, an Xperia Z in a smaller form factor but with almost the same features in select markets.

Introducing Xperia X, Kuni Suzuki, President and CEO, at Sony Mobile Communications, said

With Xperia Z, we are bringing over half a century of innovation in TV, imaging, music, film and gaming to create a superphone experience that truly stands out. With great specifications, Sony’s media applications, One-touch functions and outstanding battery life, Xperia Z is well positioned for leadership in the smartphone market. By putting smartphones at the heart of our strategy, Sony is enabling people to create, enjoy and share content and experiences like never before.

To check whether your twitter account has the Twitter Archive Feature, login to Twitter,

Go to Settings and scroll down to the bottom to check for the option to request your Twitter archive. If you do see it, go ahead and click the button. You’ll receive an email with instructions on how to access your archive when it’s ready for you to download.

Twitter says that If you don’t see the feature, you will be getting it over the “coming weeks and months”. Twitter also revealed the origin of Twitter Archive Project; it said that

This project was first built during one of our quarterly Hack Weeks. Since then, we’ve done the engineering work necessary to make it available to Twitter users. We look forward to seeing the old Tweets you uncover. As you go through all of your Tweets, share your favorites using #TwitterArchive.

Twitter Archive

Apple Sells Unlocked iPhone5

The unlocked iPhone 5 price is starting from $649 for 16GB iPhone 5; $749 for 32GB iPhone 5 and $849 for 64GB iPhone 5.

If you live in 3G only area in US and want an unlocked iPhone, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 may be worth considering. Apple has been selling unlocked versions of 16GB iPhone 4S and 8GB iPhone 4. The 16GB unlocked iPhone 4S is priced at $545 and the 8GB unlocked iPhone 4S is priced at $450. The iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 uses a micro-SIM card.

Apple is also offering special deals on iPod Touch and Macbook as well. The latest iPod Touch version has $31 discount and the previous generation iPod Touch has $21 discount. With MacBook Pro and MacBook Air, one can save up to $101 under the Black Friday Sale.

Surpisingly, Apple is not offering any discount on Apple’s latest iPad Mini. And not surprisingly, Apple is not offering any discount on iPhone 4 and iPhone 5.

iPad Discount Black Friday

Best iPod Touch Deals Black Friday/Thanksgiving

iPod Touch Deal at Best Buy for $195 with $50 Gift Card

iPod Touch deal at Best Buy is probably the best for this Thanksgiving. Best Buy is selling 4th gen iPod Touch (16GB) for $194.99 with a free $50 gift card. Online order is available with free shipping.

iPod Touch Deal at Walmart

Walmart is selling Apple iPod Touch (16GB or 32GB) with Bonus Accessory Kit containing Car charger, 3.5mm cable and more for $239+. Walmart is also selling the 16GB 4th Gen iPod Touch for $195.

iPod Touch Deal at Target for $195 with $40 Gift Card

Target is selling Apple iPod Touch 16GB (4th Generation) for $195.00 both online and at stores with $40 gift card from Target.

Best iPad Deals 2012 ThanksGiving

iPad 2 On Walmart for $399 with $75 Gift Card

Walmart has got the 16GB iPad 2 for $399 (the previous generation iPad) with a $75 gift card.  This iPad deal is available only on Walmart stores, not online.

iPad 2 on BestBuy for $339 ($60 off)

BestBuy is offering the same 16GB iPad2 for $339. It is a $60 discount from its original price of $399. It is available online.

Apple’s Thanksgiving Sale

And not to forget that Apple will be offering special one day Black Friday Thanksgiving sales. Apply last year offered about $41 discount on iPad. We can possibly expect a similar offer from Apple this year.

The Google Doodle house also features scary crow on the house and a dangling/dancing skeleton in fron of the house. Have fun with the interactive Google Doodle for Halloween. If you are too scared of the spooky sounds, there is a mute button on the right corner bottom.

Last year Google Doodle for Halloween was time lapsed video of Googlers carving “Google Logo” on giant pumpkins at Google campus.

Here is the snap shots of Google Halloween House Doodle for 2012.

Google Doodle House Happy Halloween 2012