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IBM doesn't make too many mistakes, but I thought it made a big one four years ago when it sold off its SurfAid Web analytics business to Coremetrics. Today, IBM reversed course in a very smart move when it swallowed up Coremetrics to tap into its customers' growing need for Web analytics. And while IBM getting back into the Web analytics game is a big story by itself, it's a bigger story when you look at what this means to the Web analytics industry.

Google in some ways took the air out of the Web Analytics business with its purchase of Urchin, later christened as the free Google Analytics tool. Google Analytics is a great Web metrics system that is probably used by more than half of all Web sites. It does the job and and at an unbeatable price. At the time, many analysts claimed that there would be no room in the market for paid analytics, but there are reasons that more companies still want to be in this space, even against a free competitor:

• They want to use the data. Adobe acquired Omniture in a surprise move, because they seemingly had no need for such a capability, but Adobe knows that to compete with Apple and with Google, they must figure out how to support adverti/> [...]
  
  Sat Jun 19, 2010 11:48 am

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  Droid X Delivery Now Delayed Until August 3
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  Just days after I reported Verizon Wireless' pledge to deliver the Motorola Droid X by July 23 after discovering that the Android 2.1 device was selling like hot cakes, the carrier is now listing August 3 as the next shipment date.

  Verizon began selling the multimedia-intensive Droid X July 15 for $199 with a $100 mail-in rebate but quickly sold out across the country.

  Users who go to Verizon's Droid Does Website and click on the Droid X picture will be whisked to this purchase page, which plainly announces August 3 as the next due date for the popular Android 2.1-based device.

  

  The 8/3 tag, noted by InformationWeek, is backed up farther down on the Web page here:

  

  The delay further cements the popularity of the device, which Verizon last week had promised it would not sell out of.

  Gleacher and Company analyst Mark Mckechnie said the Droid X was sold out at some 20 outlets in major cities all over the country.

  An/> [...]
  
  Tue Jul 20, 2010 14:10 pm

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  Nokia Now Offering Free Map Navigation
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  Nokia said today it's releasing a new version of Ovi Maps for its smartphones that includes walking and driving navigation for free.
  
  The move by Nokia to offer free navigation on its smartphones is widely seen as a way for the handset giant to boost sales and better compete with the likes of Google, which already offers free Google Maps Navigation in the 2.0 version of the Android operating system.
  
  The new version of Ovi Maps includes car and pedestrian navigation features, such as turn-by-turn voice instructions for 74 countries in 46 languages, and traffic information for more than 10 countries, along with detailed maps for more than 180 countries.
  
  "Why have multiple devices that work in only one country or region? Put it all together, make it free, make it global and you almost double the potential size of the mobile navigation market," said Anssi Vanjoki, Executive Vice President, Nokia.
  
  "Nokia is the only company with a mobile navigation service for both drivers and pedestrians that works across the world."

  

  
  Ovi Maps is available for download for 10 Nokia handsets, including the Nokia N97 mini, Nokia 5800 XpressMusic and Nokia E72, with more Nokia smartphones to be added in the coming weeks.
  
  In addition, starting in March, new Nokia GPS-enabled smartphones will include the new version of Ovi Maps, pre-loaded with local country map data, allowing users to view maps offline.
  
  "The large-scale availability of free-of-charge mobile phone navigation offerings using high-quality map data will be a game changer for the navigation industry," said Thilo Koslowski, Vice President Automotive and V/> [...]
  
  Thu Jan 21, 2010 07:55 am

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  Weekly Wrap-up: Antivirus Testing, Why We Use LBSs, "Facebook Killer," And More...
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  Tired of iPhone news? Then you'll like this week's top-stories list: None of them are about an Apple product. We also continued our exploration of the significant Internet trends of 2010: Watch out for an Orange Cone on the Internet of Things; augmented reality from Qualcomm is coming to Android this fall; and Google makes the news more real-time than ever. Read on for more.

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  Top Stories of the Week

  
  • Antivirus Product Testing is Changing, Whether Vendors Like it or Not
  • Why We Check In: The Reasons People Use Location-Based Social Networks
  • Facebook Snags the Guy Who Built Google's Chrome OS
  • Google Me a "Facebook Killer"? Place Your Bets!
  • Chrome Surpasses Safari in U.S.

  More coverage and analysis from ReadWriteWeb

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  Sat Jul 03, 2010 06:10 am

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