Mission Everywhere

Earlier this month, WhatsApp announced the launch of its first revenue-generating enterprise product, the WhatsApp Business API. The API allows businesses to respond to messages from WhatsApp users for free up to 24 hours, then charges for any responses after that point on a per message basis. Though still in a limited preview, the company is now supporting around 100 businesses directly on its API platform, including airlines, e-commerce companies, banks, and others like Uber and Netflix , and plans to onboard many more in the months ahead. Because businesses have to first apply to gain access the API, there’s some misinformation floating around on backchannels about how to get approved. For example, some industry sources have been telling partners that no U.S.-based businesses are being onboarded to the API at this point. This is untrue, WhatsApp says. In fact, there’s a public site  where U.S. companies Uber and Wish are featured as “customer stories.” We also understand th...

Cherlynn Low / Engadget : Huawei announces the AI Cube, a 360-degree smart speaker with an ethernet port, LTE, Wi-Fi router, and Alexa integration, coming to Europe for Christmas season   —  When Samsung launched the Galaxy Home speaker earlier this month, people were quick to point out how its name seemed ripped off from Google. from Techmeme https://ift.tt/2wwV7p7

MoviePass and its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, have covered massive losses by selling new shares of stock to a passionate base of retail shareholders. At a special shareholders meeting in July, Helios CEO Ted Farnsworth characterized them as an “army” and stressed that he had their best interests in mind, while seeking support for measures he needed passed. Within days, several assurances Farnsworth made at the meeting started to unwind. Many Helios shareholders have seen their stakes fall over 99% in value, with some losing over $100,000. It didn’t take long for Ted Farnsworth’s assurances to begin to unravel. Less than 24 hours, to be exact. At a special shareholders meeting on July 23, Farnsworth, the CEO of MoviePass owner Helios and Matheson Analytics, told a room of nervous but supportive investors that everything was going to be okay. He described Helios shareholders as an army that loved the MoviePass service and stressed that he was looking out for ...

Investors in Silicon Valley are throwing money at developer-focused startups after Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of GitHub in June made it clear that the sector is hot.  One CEO was laughed at when she first started fundraising in 2014. Now her company is worth $90 million.  Other startups in the space are raising money at lofty valuations, too.  The reason: Developers are gaining more influence in Silicon Valley, and play a huge role in determining which products are hot — and which are not.  Just as Levi Strauss made his fortune selling blue jeans to miners, a new generation of entrepreneurs are finding gold selling tools to the developers and software engineers who are themselves building the next big thing in tech.  Developer-focused startups have seen a wave of interest from Silicon Valley investors in recent months, as they pursue their dreams of cashing out in a deal as massive Microsoft's $7.5 billion acquisition of the developer platform ...

The most common questions most people have about the upcoming iPhone are as follows: When is it coming out? What's going to be new? Apple doesn't give release dates or details about upcoming products before they're officially announced. The company usually reveals new features as well as when you can a new product at one of its annual launch events.  This year, Apple's iPhone launch event is scheduled for September 12.  But based on previous years, you can predict pretty closely when you can buy the latest iPhone model, and it's coming up soon: September.  And based on analysts and reports, we have an idea what Apple could be launching this fall. Here's everything you need to know about the 2018 iPhone lineup:  Apple sent invites to journalists and other media for a launch on its campus on September 12. That means will almost certainly be able to buy a new iPhone this September. Since 2012, Apple has unveiled its latest iPhone in September. Typic...

A new, cheaper BlackBerry has arrived.  TCL — the Chinese electronics company that manufactures BlackBerry phones, announced on Thursday the BlackBerry Key2 LE — a $400 version of the high-end BlackBerry Key2 it announced earlier this summer.  The new device is almost identical to the BlackBerry Key2, with a few key differences: a lightweight frame, decreased battery life, and a slightly less powerful camera.  Here's what it's like.  SEE ALSO:  How Samsung's new Galaxy Note 9 compares with last year's Galaxy Note 8 The BlackBerry Key2 LE comes in three colors: slate, atomic, and champagne. The BlackBerry Key2 only comes in black and silver.  Like the BlackBerry Key2, the new phone has USB-C charging ... ... and a headphone jack. See the rest of the story at Business Insider from Tech Insider https://ift.tt/2wxO6Vb