square

Dish said to bid $2B for Lightsquared spectrum

LightSquared's wireless spectrum could be getting a new owner, according to a new report.

According to Bloomberg, Dish Network Chairman Charlie Ergen made a $2 billion bid last week for LightSquared's radio frequencies, which are owned by private investment firm Harbinger Capital Partners.

Bloomberg added, based on unnamed sources said to be familiar with the deal, that LightSquared has until the end of the month to make a decision.

Dish is already bogged down by other networking and communications deals floating around -- namely a $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel. The nation's third-largest mobile provider … Read more

Square adds PayPal-like cash by e-mail feature

Square has launched a new feature that will let anyone send cash to anyone else's debit card.

The new Square Cash service, which is currently invite-only, seems to bring the mobile payments company a little closer to PayPal's core offering. A video for the service suggests that anyone using it can send money simply by using the recipient's e-mail address.

Reached for comment, a Square spokesperson said only that, "We're excited to share Square Cash with our friends. We'll continue to invite others to try it out in the coming weeks."

TechCrunch was … Read more

PayPal takes aim at Square with free mobile payment processing

PayPal is taking a major leap into the payment-processing space: it's eliminating fees for businesses that sign up for its service.

The news was announced on Tuesday by PayPal president David Marcus, who said that any business that dumps its old point-of-sale (POS) services in favor of PayPal Here -- the company's mobile-payment-processing service -- or another POS offering that integrates PayPal's technology, it'll wave fees through the rest of the year.

"We will offer free credit, debit card, check, and of course PayPal processing for the remainder of the year to any qualifying U.… Read more

Square unveils Stand for Register merchants

SAN FRANCISCO--Aiming to help Square Register merchants who have had no standard hardware, Square today unveiled a stand meant to hold an iPad and make for an easy and common point-of-sale experience.

At a press event across the street from Square's office, the mobile payment company's CEO, Jack Dorsey, and Jesse Dorogusker, who leads the Square Register team, showed off Stand, its new hardware intended to give merchants a streamlined way, and a single aesthetic, to accept payments.

The problem, said Dorsey, is that merchants have had no single method to take payments using Square Register. Around the … Read more

Square hires former Obama trade official

Square, the company behind the credit card reader that attaches to mobile devices, means business.

The company announced today that it has hired Demetrios J. Marantis, a former member of President Barack Obama's cabinet who served as the country's top trade official.

Marantis will lead the company's efforts on international government, regulatory, and policy work as Square moves into more international markets. Square boasted that it has seen success in Canada, its first market outside the U.S. The company saw 90 percent more per capita in the number of payments in Canada than in the United … Read more

Finally, some good news for LightSquared and its 4G hopes

Things might finally be looking up for LightSquared, the much ballyhooed wireless startup with big plans to blanket the U.S. with 4G LTE service.

The company, which seemed doomed a year ago after the GPS industry successfully lobbied against its efforts to use 40MHz of unused satellite spectrum for terrestrial wireless broadband, may be getting a second chance after all.

This week the company received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to test the feasibility of sharing spectrum with the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If all goes well with the testing, the company could use this … Read more

Aiming for more retail deals, Square adds partnerships VP

For a mobile payments platform whose future success is tied to its ability to be accepted by as many retailers as possible, a company like Square has to have someone leading the charge toward such deals.

That's why Square -- the San Francisco startup founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey -- has just hired its first vice president of partnerships. It said today that it has tapped Alex Petrov, former PayPal vice president of retail marketing, for the job. Petrov also previously held the position of vice president of consumer brands at supermarket giant Safeway.

It will be Petrov'… Read more

Jack Dorsey says Twitter 'not even thinking' IPO -- report

Although there has been much speculation in recent months that Twitter is ramping up for an initial public offering, company co-founder Jack Dorsey has suggested that nothing is imminent.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Dorsey reportedly said that Twitter "is not even thinking" about an IPO at the moment.

"A lot of people think of this as a goal you have to get to but it's a milestone," Dorsey told Bloomberg during an interview in New York. "If you think about it as a goal you're rushing towards it and then stop, and … Read more

Google Now gives iPhone users a taste of Android

CNET Update wants answers now:

One of the killer features of Android is now available to Apple devices. It's called Google Now, and iOS users will find it inside the Google Search app. Google Now can be thought of as a personal assistant app. It taps into your location and Google accounts to learn about you, and it displays info you might find interesting. For example, it can alert you to traffic on your commute to work or the latest score of the sports team you follow. On Android, Google Now is limited to devices with 4.1 Jelly … Read more