Fueled by more spending...

Fueled by more spending towards enterprise software, the sector is expected to outperform other sectors in the next five years. The next one to dominate IT spending is global telecom equipment, which is estimated to witness 6.9 percent upside to $472 billion in the current year. This prediction is based on an expected healthy mobile devices market and a favorable forecast for enterprise network equipment. Anna from online payday loans

Digital Moms vs. Digita...

Two separate infographics from Nielsen and OnlineSchools.com offer insights into the different ways moms and dads use the Internet, mobile devices and social networks. Moms, for instance, are more likely than the average American to visit Pinterest, while dads have more online friends than moms.

42% of Consumers Pay fo...

The free sample has been used to tempt grocery shoppers since the invention of the toothpick, yet many of today’s marketers are reluctant to give anything away. Apps, ebooks, access — you gotta give a little and if you do, you’ll get a lot. iYogi just released a new study and infographic all about the power of the Freemium model. Their results show that 100% of the people they surveyed have tried a Freemium product and 42% have gone on to pay for it. Certain categories fared better than others as you can see from this slice of the full infographic : Online security and movie services such as Netflix and Hulu were voted most likely to succeed. Music services, not so much. Only 26% said they were willing to fork out money for games after trying them. I think those people are kidding themselves. There’s a lot of competition out there. With mobile devices in hand, folks can now choose from a nearly unlimited list of products and services that entertain, inform, or help them do what they need to do faster and better. If you truly believe your product is the best one, then you should have no qualms about giving away a limited day trial or a partial access trial. iYogi says it best with this line from their report: “If it can’t ‘sell’ for free, can it ever sell at all?” The freemium model doesn’t just benefit the customer, it’s a built-in focus group that will help you make your product the best it can be.

Holy Moly: Bible App ‘Y...

Newfangled social and gaming apps are popular and all, but it turns out that content dating back thousands of years can still more than hold its own in today’s tech landscape. YouVersion , a Bible reading app made by nationwide Christian megachurch LifeChurch.tv , has crossed the 50 million download mark across the variety of mobile devices on which it’s available. That’s clearly a pretty big milestone, and YouVersion is pretty unique as far as most TechCrunch stories go — since the app is totally free and run by a religious non-profit, no venture capital raises, revenue generation plans, or “exit strategies” are part of the picture. So we were happy to be able to hear more about it from YouVersion’s founder Bobby Gruenewald when he was in San Francisco recently. Watch the video embedded above to see Gruenewald talk about his personal evolution from a business and tech guy, to a full-time pastor, to his current blend of the two today, the app’s growth since its inception in 2008, and plans for future growth.

Comcast Subscribers Can...

Comcast and ESPN are making good on their promise to bring live sports to iPads and other devices, announcing today that Comcast subscribers can now log in to ESPN’s WatchESPN mobile and web apps . And coming soon, ESPN will be making its live TV streams available through Comcast’s XfinityTV.com web portal. The availability of TV streams online is part of a larger initiative on the part of cable networks and distributors, called TV Everywhere. And while in the long term it should mean that cable subscribers will get more access to all their favorite channels and shows online, in the short term pay TV providers and all the different networks have to do new deals that give them access to those online and mobile streams. That’s what happened in the case of WatchESPN, which launched a year ago, but for a while was only available to customers of Time Warner Cable. But in its latest deal with Comcast, ESPN parent Disney did a wide-ranging deal that will provide more access not just to ESPN online and on mobile devices, but also to kid-focused Disney Channel sites and apps, as well as ABC video-on-demand titles. All in all, it’s good news for Comcast subscribers. Not so much for everyone else with a cable or satellite subscription who has to wait for their TV provider to re-up with Disney or ESPN to do their own deals.