Mobile Lowdown 6-29-11: Amazon, Rovio boost WP7; Square; Google+ Mobile
A look at some of the big stories in mobile today:
— Windows Phone 7: Couple of good-news boosts for the Windows Phone 7 apps platform. Amazon has chosen the Microsoft OS for the debut of its first native mobile app for Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) Fresh, its grocery delivery service; and Rovio has finally made a nest for its Angry Birds there, too.
— Square: The mobile payments company gets $100 million in a Series C round, valuing it at $1 billion. Full story here.
— Google+: No native iPhone app yet for Google’s latest stab at social networking, but it does have an optimized mobile web site. (via TechCrunch)
— LightSquared: It’s not live yet, and is facing some heat in Washington over GPS interference complaints, but the 4G/LTE network LightSquared is pressing on and has signed on another wholesale customer, netTALK, which offers a low-cost VoIP and video telephony service by way of a routing device. It plans to add data services to its portfolio with the new agreement. (press release)
— Growth levelling? IDC says the UK mobile market grew only six percent in Q1 2011 year-on-year; Germany grew only eight percent in the same period. (via IDC)