Google on Wednesday announced the release of a revamped Drive app for Android to make creating and accessing files on-the-go easier, via a new card-style grid view and added features such as document scanning. You can grab the new version now directly from Google Play.

First and foremost, Drive files in the Android app are now displayed in a card-style grid view. You can swipe between files as well as glance at large previews to quickly check out their contents.

Here’s a screenshot of the swiping in action on an Android tablet:

While Drive is still very much a cloud storage service, the app now lets you download a copy of your files for offline access (check the actions menu inside settings). This feature is only available on Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) and up, in addition to the desktop version of course.

Next up is the addition of a way to keep track of your paper documents like receipts, letters, and billing statements. The app has gained a scanning option (Add New => Scan), which lets you snap a photo of your document, have Drive run its Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology on it so you can search for it later, and turn it into a PDF for safekeeping.

Here’s the feature in action on an Android phone:

Last but not least, the editing experience in Google Sheets has been improved: you can now adjust font types and sizes for a spreadsheet and tweak the cell text colors and cell alignment right from the app.

The full Google Drive 1.2.182.25 for Android changelog is as follows:

• New grid view makes it easier to find your files.
• New quick preview lets you view photos and other files from within the app.
• Scan documents, receipts and letters for safe keeping in Drive; then search by contents once uploaded.
• Download a copy of files to your local device (Honeycomb+).
• Spreadsheet editor now supports changing fonts, colors and cell alignment.
• View properties of files from within the editors.
• Bug fixes and visual improvements.

This is a big update both in terms of design and new features. We’ll be looking closely to see if similar changes are made for Google Drive’s iOS app as well.

Top Image Credit: Pawel Kryj

HTC has confirmed that Lennard Hoornik, CEO of HTC Asia, has left the company to pursue “other interests”. The high-profile departure follows a similar exit by Jason Gordon, Vice President of Global Communications and reportedly Chief Product Officer Kouji Kodera, among others.

“HTC can confirm that Lennard Hoornik has left HTC,” a statement sent to Engadget reads. “We appreciate his contributions to our South Asia efforts over the past year and wish him all the best. HTC’s CFO, Chialin Chang will provide interim leadership in this strategic region while we work to find a permanent solution.”

Gordon announced his departure on Twitter earlier this week, explaining that his last day was in fact May 17. “After nearly seven years at HTC, my last day was Friday,” he tweeted. “I’ve worked with some amazing people and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

HTC is in a vulnerable state right now after launching two key products; the HTC One, its new flagship Android device that will compete with the Samsung Galaxy S4 over the next 12 months, as well as the HTC First, the only smartphone to come pre-installed with Facebook Home.

The Verge is reporting that Kodera also left the Taiwanese tablet and smartphone manufacturer last week. To have such high-profile employees is cause for concern on its own, but it follows a turbulent few months where Rebecca Rowland, Global Retail Marketing Manager, John Starkweather, Director of Digital Marketing and Eric Lin, Product Strategy Manager have also moved on to pastures new.

To all my friends still at @htc – just quit. leave now. it’s tough to do, but you’ll be so much happier, I swear.

— eric L (@ericlin) May 20, 2013

Company morale is likely being affected by flagging revenue; the company reported net income after tax of $2.88 million for the first quarter of 2013, on top of $1.45 billion in total sales. Final quarter performance for 2012 was equally concerning.

HTC is also set to abando HTC Watch, its mobile movie rental and purchase service, in Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden by the end of the month.

The firm is looking to refresh its image at the moment and perhaps these departures area reflection of that. Regardless, we’ve contacted HTC to find out why Kodera left the company and whether this is all part of a larger restructuring.

Samsung is investing in hardware after the company agreed to spend 53 billion won ($48 million) to acquire a 10 percent stake in fellow South Korean firm Pantech, the country’s third-largest maker of mobile devices.

The company announced — via Yonhap News Agency – that the deal will “help further solidify” its relationship with Pantech, and in particular their joint work around smartphones, tablets and other areas of hardware.

Update: Samsung has confirmed the deal, providing a statement to TNW that explains it will be a passive investor with no input into Pantech’s management decisions — presumably to offset any anti-competitive concerns:

Samsung Electronics has agreed to acquire a 10-percent stake in Pantech, valued at approximately KRW 53 billion. The investment is aimed at solidifying our relationship with Pantech, a key component customer of Samsung. Samsung will have no involvement in Pantech’s business management in any way or form.

The duo already work together on semiconductor and display businesses, and, last year alone, Pantech is reported to have spent 235 billion won (around $211 million) buying electronics and components from Samsung affiliated businesses to order to build its devices.

The deal is quite unique in a sense, because devices from Pantech compete with Samsung’s range of smartphones and tablets, and it isn’t often that rival companies would collaborate in an investment deal such as this.

While the Pantech name is strong in Korea, where its sales trail only local rivals Samsung and LG, the firm has not tasted similar success overseas. At this year’s Mobile World Congress event, however, it caught the attention of media with the Android-based Vega No 6, the world’s largest full-HD smartphone, while its budget range — including the Discover, available for $50 on contract in the US — has garnered positive reviews.

Like other once strong electronics firms in East Asia, including most notably Sharp — in which Samsung is also an investor — Pantech has suffered financial issues of late. Last year, a five-year refinancing program was set up to managing its fiscal development, and Samsung’s investment will aid that.

With the deal, the world’s largest becomes Pantech’s third-largest shareholder, behind only chip-maker Qualcomm (11.96 percent) and the Korea Development Bank, which owns 11.81 percent.

The Pantech agreement follows Samsung’s decision to invest in Sharp in March. The firm agreed to spend 10.4 billion yen (around $112 million) for a 3.08 percent stake in Sharp, which will also grant it greater access to its technology.

Headline image via Jung Yeon Je / Getty Images

More to follow

MessageMe, the US-based chat app looking to rival Line, WhatsApp, Viber and co, has confirmed that it has closed a $10 million round of seed funding and, furthermore, that it has passed 5 million registered users, just 75 days after launch. That follows an impressive start which saw it hit 1 million users within its first week.

The mobile messaging newcomer sprung a surprise last week when we dug up a filing that showed it had closed the new investment just months after it announced a $1.9 million round, which was assembled in late 2012.

The startup has revealed that the new round was led by existing investor Greylock Partners and included participation from a number of other existing backers.

The service adopts a multimedia-rich approach to communications to its iOS and Android apps.

Chats can be one-on-one or in groups and, beyond basic text-based messages, users can share images, drawings, videos, voice recordings, music and their location.

In addition, there are two blank spaces that are reserved for stickers and money; two features that the company will switch on when it turns its focus to making money, CEO (and one of four co-founders) Arjun Sethi told TNW recently.

Speaking prior to the latest round of funding, Sethi said that the primary focus is on growing the service’s user base for now. Indeed, with fresh cash in the coffers, there is less pressure on making money and the company has the resources to grow its team, develop the product and increase its user base.

“We’ve got some ground breaking additions in the pipeline, aiming to change the way we look at communication happening in our world. We’re excited to help lead a team that pushes the envelope on what’s possible, while focusing on a first-class product,” said the founders in a blog post.

Passing 5 million registered users in a short space of time is impressive, but it still leaves MessageMe a long way behind WhatsApp (200 million monthly active users), WeChat (195 million monthly active users), Viber (200 million registered users), Line (150 million registered users), Kakao Talk (90 million active users), Kik (50 million registered users), Nimbuzz (100 million registered users) and, well, others…you get the picture.

But, the service is certainly growing at a fast clip, and the founders shared a range of other statistics to illustrate that.

As of today, MessageMe sees 8 images uploaded per second on average, that’s up from two 65 days ago after it first launched, while the number of notifications sent per second on average has tripled from 500 to 1,500 over that same period.

A recent Informa report found that the number of messages sent by chat apps overtook the volume of SMS worldwide for the first time last year. And, while Message is very much standing in the shadow of giants on that front, one particular thing that is notable about its plans: the founders’ background in gaming.

Sethi and fellow co-founder Justin Rosenthal were part of game maker Lolapps, which merged with game publisher 6wave in 2011. Sethi was centrally involved with a number of top Facebook games, so has experience in scaling social games and making money from content.

That’s crucial because a number of messaging services are moving towards becoming content and games platforms, with promising signs of success.

Line made $58 million during Q1 2013, up from $30 the previous quarter, and Kakao Talk’s games ecosystem is grossing $40 million each month. Equally tellingly is that two billion dollar mobile games firms, GREE and DeNA, are moving into the space with their own messaging apps, Tellit and Comm, respectively.

Yet, in the US — MessageMe’s primary market thus far — no company has stepped up to dominate the mobile messaging with content.

WhatsApp service remains focused on providing communications services, but there are also that are moving. Canada-based Kik is gradually developing its content play — with its HTML5-based Cards platform — while Line and WeChat are translate their overseas success into growth in the US.

That gives MessageMe a decent shot at being among the early movers in the space. Or, at least, the odds are far better than its potential to topple WhatsApp.

Kakao Talk is proof alone of that potential. The Korean service has fewer users than its global competitors, but yet it has built an ecosystem of games firms that is bringing in money an impressive, and growing, rate each month.

In the immediate term, MessageMe will focus on continuing to gain traction among new users and grow engagement on the service. As we said when it landed its $1.9 million round in March: the company has done well so far, let’s see what it can do next.

Headline image via Thinkstock

Opera’s WebKit-powered browser for Android has completed its beta period and is out in full today, the company has announced, with a few additional tweaks.

The much-anticipated beta launch came in March, some two months ago. Now, in addition to the existing features – which include a new user interface and Discover — users of the browser can now choose to place their navigation bar at the top or bottom of the screen. Text wrap and full screen modes for active tabs have also been added, as well improved stability.

The browser was one of the highlights of Mobile World Congress in February, where it was unveiled off the back of the Norwegian firm’s decision to ditch its Presto engine in favor of the open source WebKit. That explains the speed gains that users of the new browser will enjoy on their device.

The browser runs native Web apps, but the headline feature is Discover, which recommends content for users — encouraging a “lean-back surfing experience”, as CEO Lars Boilesen puts it — based on a range of factors that include previous clicks, Web page history and their location. On the downside, Discover content is curated by Opera itself and is not automated.

The Off-Road setting utilises Opera’s network optimization expertise to lower the amount of traffic used per session, and get the most out of slow and unreliable connections. That’s particularly handy in emerging markets, where Opera has a particularly sizeable presence.

Other features — while regular on rival browsers — that mark a change for Opera include private browsing and a unified URL-search bar.

If you still don’t have it yet, you can find the browser on the Google Play Store or m.opera.com.

From Mobile World Congress: Opera CEO Lars Boilesen talks acquisition rumors, plans and Firefox OS [Video]

Image via Opera

Samsung Wallet, an Android alternative to Apple’s Passbook, was quietly unveiled at Mobile World Congress in February and Samsung has, once again, without a media fanfare, launched the service for consumers with an initial rollout in Korea.

An announcement in Korean (via Engadget) states that the service is available for a range of Galaxy device owners — initially those with the Galaxy S4, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Note 10.1, Galaxy S II HD LTE — who can store their credit card details on their device in order to make transactions with online merchants. Payment is verified using a PIN and a one time password.

The company says that some 30,000 domestic retailers are supporting the service on launch. There are plans to add support for a number of Passbook-like services, including tickets, membership cards, coupons and other services that were showcase earlier this year.

There’s no word on a timeline of other services — we already know NFC payments will be supported in time — nor do we have an update on when it will launch outside of Korea. For now, it looks like this will be a test deployment ahead of a wider expansion.

Like Apple’s Passbook, Samsung Wallet is able to deliver time and location based push notifications, notifying you when you are near a store or location that you can use a Wallet card. Always connected, membership cards and boarding passes can be updated in real-time.

Samsung Wallet includes an open API which allows other services to feed into it for payments. So, once the global launch kicks off, we can expect integration from the existing base of partners which includes including Walgreens, MLB, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com and Lufthansa.

Here’s a reminder of what was announced back in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress:

Headline image via Jung Yeon Je / Getty Images

Google on Monday announced it is killing Google Checkout, its online payment processing service, on November 20, 2013. The company is offering merchants a six-month warning to figure out where to go next.

Google officially replaced Checkout with Wallet back in September 2011. The company has been building out the successor recently, and now claims the new platform “enables merchants to meet the demands of a multi-screen world where consumers shop in-stores, at their desks and on their mobile devices.”

Google is giving its users the following information to before the aforementioned kill date, depending on which camp they fall into:

• Merchants without their own payment processing will need to transition to a third-party alternative solution within six months.
• US merchants with payment processing can apply for Google Wallet Instant Buy.
• Merchants selling through Google-hosted marketplaces (such as Google Play, Chrome Web Store, and Offers Marketplace) will be unaffected.

For those in the first group, Google is not offering a replacement processing solution for physical goods and services. The company has, however, partnered with Braintree, Shopify, and Freshbooks; neither of these are ideal as they all still require a transition, but at least Google has negotiated discounted migration options for its Checkout users.

“We recognize this transition may be difficult; it impacts you and your business,” Google says. “We’re committed to helping you with a smooth transition. While we are unable to offer a direct replacement for Google Checkout, we are continuing to invest in a variety of exciting new payments products to meet real world needs for both buyers and sellers.”

Those who find themselves in the second group should know about both the Google Wallet API and the Instant Buy Android API. While the former has been around for a while and works for mobile sites, the latter was just launched last week at Google I/O 2013 and lets developers integrate payment features into Android apps.

Those in the last group will continue to be supported. Google plans to automatically transition them to the Google Wallet Merchant Center in the next few weeks.

Google has been doing quite a bit of spring cleaning recently, though this particular axing appears to have been delayed and slightly more thought out. The company likely wanted to get some of its alternatives together and give users a lot of time to transition. Both of those are critical when it comes to people’s livelihoods.

See also – Google to shut down Calendar features, Google Sync, Google Calendar Sync, Issue Tracker Data API, and Punchd and Google to axe Google Reader on July 1 as part of larger round of app closures

Top Image Credit: Dimitris Petridis

Jolla, a Finnish startup that is reviving Nokia’s abandoned MeeGo platform through its new Linux-based mobile operating system Sailfish OS, unveiled its first smartphone today.

The device, just called Jolla, is a peculiar beast that combines a dark, industrial top half aesthetic with a bright and colorful removable hardware shell. The company calls it the ‘Other Half’, which uses an unconfirmed bridging technology to grab new themes and content for the user.

Martin Schuele, chief designer at Jolla, is cautious to explain how this ‘magic’ works. But it’s clearly meant to be one of the most prominent selling points behind the new smartphone.

Rather like the Nokia feature phones of old, consumers are encouraged to find new interchangeable shells and snap it onto the back of their phone. Antti Saarnio, co-founder and chairman of Jolla, explains how a football team might use it to give fans a new background image, fonts, photos of the players and a ringtone of the local chant.

Jolla should be commended for trying something new with its first smartphone. As Schuele explains, “We were aiming for something that is really pure. It’s really simple, but it’s also not plain or cold. We weren’t aiming at another rounded box.”

The concept feels a bit tacky, however, and reminiscent of Skylanders; a wildly popular video game franchise whereby children unlock new levels and characters by buying additional toys.

Jolla versus everyone

The problem is that Jolla needs to offer an awful lot more than just interchangeable shells to compete in the modern smartphone space.

Google announced at its I/O developer conference last week that there have now been over 900 million Android activations in total. With more than 48 billion app downloads, the company is looking to emerging markets as its next big area for growth.

Nokia continues to push Windows Phone and its recently revamped Asha platform, as BlackBerry looks to rediscover its lost prominence with both enterprise users and young people through its newly unveiled Q5 smartphone.

Firefox OS is set to launch later this year. Canonical is continuing it efforts to bring Ubuntu to mobile phones and tablets. Tizen is waiting in the wings. The list goes on.

Everyone versus Google

Jolla needs more than parlor tricks to capture a significant userbase. Talking to Saarnio, however, it’s clear that the Finnish startup isn’t worried about the impending avalanche of niche mobile operating systems. It’s all about Google.

“This is not about us against new, emerging platforms,” Saarnio said. “This is about new platforms against Android. I think that’s the game.”

He added: “I can’t comment about Windows Phone, but I believe the existence of BlackBerry, Ubuntu and even Firefox OS is helping us. The market needs different alternatives. If you look at the car industry, there are many brands in the car industry and many different types of models.

“With the smartphone industry, there is no reason why it can’t be the same.”

Tackling the app problem

Consumer choice should always be encouraged, but the problem often lies in software and apps. Developers are being cajoled into producing their apps for a number of different platforms and inevitably, their attentions rests on those with the biggest market share.

It means Android and iOS often get first pick, with BlackBerry and Windows Phone reduced to an afterthought. Firefox OS is trying to sidestep this problem with HTML5 apps, but Jolla needs a critical mass of native apps. Without them, it will be increasingly difficult to persuade new users to make the switch.

Jolla says that since unveiling Sailfish OS at the Slush conference in Helsinki last year, it’s been working on apps and integration with third-party services, including Facebook. The platform will also be able to run Android apps which, like BlackBerry, should give its new smartphone a head-start when it launches later this year.

The company is refusing to name any popular apps from high-profile developers, however. It’s a warning sign that shouldn’t be overlooked.

“At the moment we can’t mention them publicly, but let’s just say that we are working with QT,” Saarnio said. “BlackBerry and Ubuntu are based on QT, and I believe there will be this core cross-platform collaboration, whether his company fuels it or not. It’s very easy for developers to offer those applications to all of these different companies and platforms based on QT.”

Developers’ ability to easily share apps, or at least port them to different platforms, should give Jolla a better chance of building its mission-critical app ecosystem. But relying on interest in Ubuntu and BlackBerry is concerning. Neither company has an industry-leading app marketplace, as most users will attest.

Attracting exclusive apps, as always, will be the key to its success.

Who’s going to buy the Jolla smartphone?

Jolla also needs to know exactly who it’s targeting with its first Sailfish OS-powered smartphone. Focusing on the right markets and consumers could be critical, but the company’s answer is a little more ambiguous.

“It’s not about geography,” Saarnio said. “There are technology leaders who want to have something fresh and new. The other interesting group will be the people who want to actually combine and join this ‘Other Half’ thinking and actually use their smartphone in different ways, and use it for the situation depending on where they are. The evening, in the daytime, and so on.”

“I think this will be, and should be, a big thing for Jolla.”

The company is holding a dedicated event in Helsinki today called Jolla LoveDay, where consumers will undoubtedly find out more about the device and Sailfish OS. It will be interesting to see how Jolla develops the idea throughout the year; it has a long way to go before it can go toe-to-toe with other mobile platforms.

Image Credit: KIMMO MANTYLA/AFP/Getty Images

In 2013, for the first time ever, the total number of smartphones shipped worldwide is projected to surpass the total number of feature phones shipped. More specifically, the former category is expected to reach 937 million units this year compared to just 889 million units for the latter, as smartphone shipments grow to 1.45 billion units at a compounded annual rate of 26 percent between 2011 and 2016, and account for two-thirds of the mobile phone market.

The latest estimates come from market research company NPD, which expects the smartphone market to continue growing rapidly over the next two years, thanks to larger and higher-resolution displays, faster processors, as well as higher-capacities that make them satisfy many needs previously requiring other computing devices.

Here’s the forecast:

If you’re getting a big feeling of déjà vu, that’s because IDC, another market research firm, made this prediction earlier this year. The difference is in the actual figure: IDC expects vendors to ship 918.6 million smartphones this year, or 50.1 percent of the total mobile phone shipments worldwide.

NPD’s estimate is coming later, so some would argue that it might be more accurate but the fact is the number of phones shipped doesn’t really matter. The final number will undoubtedly end up different by December (we wouldn’t be surprised if it passed a billion) and the point here is the two firms both agree smartphones will surpass feature phones this year.

In fact, on a quarterly basis, it’s already happened. IDC said vendors shipped 216.2 million units in Q1 2013, marking the first time more than half (51.6 percent) of the total phone shipments in a quarter were smartphones.

In its report today, NPD unsurprisingly says emerging markets are driving most of the smartphone growth, largely thanks to better download speeds as networks are upgraded to 3G and 4G as well as entry-level devices priced below $200. China in particular is pushing the entry-level smartphone category, grabbing 55 percent of shipments, not to mention the country also happens to be the largest market for smartphones as a whole.

At the other end of the market, NPD expects LTE-enabled smartphones to reach 23 percent market share in 2013. Shipments of AMOLED and LTPS LCD panels for full high-definition resolution smartphones are forecast to increase drastically, from 1.7 million units in 2012 to 113 million units in 2013.

This part of a bigger smartphone trend: it seems that users increasingly want bigger screens. In the smartphone space, more than half (57 percent) of displays are projected to range between 4″ to 5″, while screens larger than 5″ are expected to grow to 16 percent of the market.

It seems we’re reaching a tipping point this year. Yet already we’re wondering how long it will take before feature phones go the way of netbooks and furthermore, what will replace smartphones. Right now, it looks like wearable computing is the next horizon, but as we’ve learned, anything can happen in the mobile space, and quickly.

Top Image Credit: Leo Ramirez/Getty Images

Payvia, a mobile and online payments company that allows consumers to pay via their mobile phone through direct carrier billing, has acquired Mogreet, a company that specializes in mobile video, text and rich media messaging engagement solutions.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Payvia argues that the purchase of Mogreet will allow it to create an end-to-end solution that marries mobile payments, user targeting and mobile marketing at scale, on a directly-connected carrier platform.

Payvia will integrate Mogreet’s cloud-based video and rich messaging technology into its mobile payments platform.

The company’s CEO, Darcy Wedd, said in a statement:

“Our mobile payments offer resonates strongly with the market because it is built on our proprietary carrier connected technology that gives us a unique ability to understand consumer mobile usage.

Our clients have told us they also need a simpler way to link targeted mobile transactions to their marketing campaigns. By integrating Mogreet’s solutions on our platform we answer that need.”

Payvia says it operates engages with 120 million mobile users to process billions of mobile messages on an annual basis. The company also asserts that it has paid out more than $2 billion in global mobile commerce revenues to merchants and developers worldwide.

Mogreet’s mobile marketing solutions are, in turn, said to be used by “thousands of marketers, retailers, small businesses and developers” including brands like Cox Media Group and Gamefly.

The full Mogreet team will join payvia, with Mogreet founder and CEO James Citron serving as payvia’s CMO.

Founded in 2006, Mogreet was backed by $14 million from DFJ Frontier, Ascend Venture Group, Black Diamond Ventures and Spyglass Ventures, among others.

Payvia, meanwhile, is part of the m-Qube group of companies and has raised funding from investors such as Silver Lake Sumeru, Montgomery & Co, and Trinity Ventures.

Image credit: Thinkstock