marketplace

Move over Siri. Windows Phone now has its own voice assistant, dubbed Ask Ziggy, and it seems to be a hit.

Except for some negative comments here and there, many reviewers on the MarketPlace page for the free app christened it with 4- and 5-star ratings, resulting in an average of 3.5 stars.

"Off to a great start," said one commenter. "As a proof of concept it's funny to see how Apple's 'amazing' interface can be rivaled by a single developer. Looking forward to future updates."

I ran a quick, informal competition between … Read more

Despite the growth of Google's Android Market, Apple's App Store is still the top dog among mobile app stores.

Looking at different app stores this past year, research firm Distimo found that sales of iPhone apps alone in Apple's iPhone App Store generated four times the revenue seen by Android Market. Sales of iPad apps in the App Store chalked up the second highest revenue total.

The standings were compiled by looking at the total revenue created by the 200 highest grossing apps across each store. For the purposes of its report, Distimo separated Apple's store … Read more

While Amazon Appstore may not exactly qualify as an "app," it is nonetheless, a valuable download. It's an altogether different marketplace from the official Android Market, so it offers different picks, recommendations, and reviews. The home page opens up to Top Paid apps and Top Free apps, so it's easy to see what's hot. Otherwise, you can search by keyword or browse through categories with ease.

What's more, Amazon Appstore gives users one paid app every day, free of charge. So, if you have an Amazon.com account and an Android-powered device, this one … Read more

Amazon said it supports a federal law that would let states collect sales tax from online retailers, but only if smaller businesses are not exempt.

Paul Misener, Amazon's vice president for global public policy, yesterday expressed support for an "even-handed" method of collecting state sales taxes from Internet vendors in congressional testimony (PDF).

"Congress should authorize the states to require collection, with the great objects of protecting states' rights, addressing the states' needs, and leveling the playing field for all sellers," Misener said, according to a transcript of his testimony.

But the Amazon executive argued … Read more

Microsoft's Windows Phone platform is apparently growing in popularity among app developers.

The software giant's Windows Phone Marketplace now hosts more than 40,000 apps and games from more than 10,000 different publishers, according to a study conducted by All About Windows Phone. About 33 percent of those apps were added in the past 90 days.

Of the submissions made during the past month, 85 percent were apps, while 15 percent were games. Some 68 percent of those were free downloads, 23 percent were paid, and 9 percent were paid after the initial free trial period.

Apps … Read more

Welcome to CNET Marketplace.

I'm Rick "The Cheapskate" Broida, here to introduce CNET's new destination for insider information on the best gadget deals on the Internet, plus buying advice, price alerts, and more exciting developments we can't even tell you about yet.

Every day on CNET Marketplace you'll find not only my daily post, but also a mixture of additional deals (hand-picked by yours truly), shopping guides, and tips for scoring the best prices on everything under the tech sun.

Marketplace will also offer exclusive deals from companies CNET knows and trusts. (… Read more

In advance of its anticipated "Mango" software update, Microsoft is throwing open the doors to its newly renovated online Windows Phone Marketplace.

The initial Marketplace was little more than a placeholder for things to come, a mostly static repository for maybe a thousand apps total. (Microsoft is now up to 30,000 titles compatible with Windows Phone.) In contrast, the new online Marketplace storefront is a sharper-looking app catalog complete with purchasing power and over-the-air downloads.… Read more

Windows Phone has officially reached 30,000 apps in its marketplace, according to a Microsoft blog.

Dropping the news yesterday in the Windows Phone developer blog, Todd Brix, senior director of Windows Phone Marketplace, added that the "nearly 30,000 Windows Phone app and game titles available today will also run on Mango."

The first major upgrade to Windows Phone, Mango was provided to device manufacturers about a month ago. An official release is being eyed for this fall.

Since its debut toward the end of last year, the Windows Phone Marketplace has seen steady growth in the … Read more

In the latest twist in the Airbnb saga, the San Francisco woman whose apartment was ransacked and robbed by a guest says the travel marketplace should have had protection measures in place from the very beginning, and her life continues to be an "utter hell."

Airbnb matches people looking for a place to stay with others renting out their own homes or apartments. The victim had said the company did little when she reported the damage to her apartment.

Responding to CEO Brian Chesky's apology over the incident and announcement of revamped policies to protect hosts, the … Read more