Motoogle: BOOM! The Mobile Business Just Got Completely Blown Up

Things that make you go “Boom!!!”: Google’s $12.5 billion purchase of handset maker Motorola.
explosion

Exclusive: Apple iPad 2 Event Set for March 2

To those who care intensely about this kind of stuff–which would be pretty much everyone in the tech ecosystem–Apple will hold its much-anticipated event on March 2, where the tech giant seems poised to unveil a new version of its hugely successful iPad, according to multiple sources. As in, iPad 2! Or, as BoomTown is now officially nicknaming it: iPad Too! According to several sources close to the situation, the Wednesday date in a little more than a week is firm and will take place in San Francisco, the scene of many such Apple events.

News Byte

Intel Doesn't Want to MeeGo It Alone

Intel says it’s “not blinking” on MeeGo, following Nokia’s decision to refocus its mobile efforts on Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform, and, indeed, CEO Paul Otellini told analysts this morning that the company is seeking out new allies for the OS. “We will find another partner,” he said. “The carriers still want a third ecosystem and the carriers want an open ecosystem, and that’s the thing that drives our motivation.” Given the further entrenchment of the iPhone and Android operating systems, the debut of Windows Phone 7 and the slowly renewing momentum behind webOS, a new Meego partner may prove difficult to find.

Was TweetDeck's Sale a Good Deal? That Depends on Bill Gross.

TweetDeck investors are getting some cash, and a lot of equity, in their $30 million sale to UberMedia. So if Bill Gross can build a Zynga to Twitter’s Facebook, they’ll be in great shape. If not…

Bill Gross's UberMedia Raises $17.5 Million From Accel, Index and Steve Case

UberMedia, which just bought TweetDeck for $30 million in equity last week, has raised $17.5 million in a round led by Accel Partners. The valuation for the Pasadena, Calif., start-up founded by well-known entrepreneur Bill Gross–which was actually struck some month ago–is $40 million.

TweetDeck Finds a Home, and $30 Million, at UberMedia

UberMedia, the holding company that specializes in Twitter-based start-ups, has added its highest-profile company to date: Tweetdeck, the biggest Twitter application not owned by Twitter itself.

Nokia’s Microsoft Partnership: Does the New Strategy Add Up?

Nokia has already announced the key piece of its strategy–a shift to Windows Phone for its future smartphones. Now the company is set to talk about the financial implications of that and go through the rest of its strategy, which includes a mix of Symbian and even a dash of MeeGo. Mobilized has live coverage of the event, which started at around 4 am PT, or noon here in London.

Apple App Happy Sonos Also Goes Android

Sonos–the maker of innovative wireless music systems that has been boosted by its Apple iPhone and iPad Controller app–is set to roll out one for Google’s Android mobile operating system. The Sonos Controller for Android will officially introduce the app at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week, although the Santa Barbara, Calif., company is announcing it today.

Exclusive: Nokia’s Stephen Elop Talks About How He Made His Big OS Decision

In an interview, Nokia’s chief executive talks about the factors that went into choosing among three possibilities for its high-end smartphone business–sticking with plans to develop around MeeGo, shifting to Android or adopting Microsoft’s Windows Phone.

HP Introduces webOS TouchPad Tablet, New Phones

Palm gets its second chance at a rise-from-the-ashes rebirth today-–this time under Hewlett-Packard’s aegis. At an invitation-only event in San Francisco (wisely scheduled after the CES tablet deluge of 2011), HP uncrated its first webOS hardware since its acquistion of Palm: the TouchPad tablet and two smartphones–the Pre 3 and the little Veer.

IPad Rivals? There Are No iPad Rivals.

Could Nokia's Miracle Be Microsoft?

Gmail Founder Says Chrome OS Is DOA