With the rise of free instant messaging apps, can GSM-based Rich Communication Services help telcos compete amid dwindling SMS revenues? With Telkomsel and Indosat announcing the development of their own messaging apps based on the GSMA-approved Rich Communication Services (RCS) standard, Indonesia is about to join countries like Singapore, South Korea, and Spain in rolling Read the full article…

AngelHack organizes competitions where developers and entrepreneurs can learn tools, meet friends and get funding and mentorship for their startup ideas. In 2013, AngelHack will organize 100 hackathons, bringing together 15,000+ developers in 50+ cities. Winners from every city are put through the AngelHack Accelerator Program, where we mentor them for 12 weeks before bringing Read the full article…

Leading mobile advertising and publishing platform, Tapjoy recently announces partnership Kakao, the largest mobile social platform in Korea. This will allow developers on the Kakao Games platform to monetize their apps through Tapjoy’s market-leading advertising and monetization tools. KaKaoTalk  is a popular mobile messenger app by KaKao and currently has more than 90 million users around Read the full article…

CloudDock helps enterprises save money through the efficient deployment of virtualized environments on tablets and PCs using its thin client technology. The enterprise market is moving toward mobile devices. With work increasingly being done remotely in the field, at home and co-working spaces, employees will need to access data and applications even while on the Read the full article…

At the annual Google I/O conference, Google has announced a new feature that unifies its messaging services into one cross-platform application: Hangouts. Messaging has become a core Google service since it launched Gmail a decade ago. When Google Talk launched, Google brought in instant messaging to its slew of offerings, and the service has since Read the full article…

Opening in July 2008 with only 500 apps, the Apple App store announces its 50th billionth download today by giving out a $10,000 App Store Gift Card. When it first launched, the Apple App Store only had 500 apps. Since then, it has completely transformed how people use their mobile devices and created a thriving app Read the full article…

W-Locate, which provides indoor and outdoor geolocation through GPS and SIM cards, has secured pre-series A funding from TNF Ventures. Location-based services are popular not only in the consumer market, but also in enterprise. With the rise of GPS- and WiFi-based location services popularized among retail and restaurant businesses, another solution is on the rise: Read the full article…

In the latest and sixth accelerator batch of 500 Startups, two out of 28 companies chosen were Japanese startups, App Socially and Whill. After quitting his job as a university professor, Yusuke Takahashi decided to move over to San Francisco for two months to seek validation for his idea. According to a BBC article, Yusuke read Read the full article…

At 20 years of age, Sahil Lavingia has managed to raise US$7 million of funding for his company, Gumroad. When talking about building products, Sahil Lavingia is definitely someone in the know. Prior to founding his current startup Gumroad, Sahil was the founding designer for Pinterest. Sahil was part of the early team that helped Read the full article…

Here are the top 10 pitching startups at Echelon 2013, chosen from more than 100 finalists around the region. Over the last few weeks, the e27 team has been travelling around the region on the hunt for the best Asia startups. We have travelled to 9 countries and connected with various local communities around the Read the full article…