One of the reasons that made Twitter famous are its APIs and the third party desktop applications that made life easier for many of us to follow what people tweet and stay in touch with them.

And because of its APIs, third part websites such as TwitPic made sharing photos on Twitter possible, extending Twitter’s original capabilities.

But to upload photos and images to TwitPic you need to go to its website to start the uploading process!

Waseem Shamekh from Rafah in Gaza and a student at Gaza Islamic University has developed a tool that will helps making your life easier: “TwitLoader a light desktop application that allows you to upload images to TwitPic directly from your desktop with no need to open a browser tab.

The app is based on Adobe Air and works with Windows, Linux and Mac. If you want to download the application you can go here: TwitLoader

Aljazeera just launched a new free iPhone website version that enables users to watch Aljazeera English from live via m.aljazeera.net ( click on LIVE on the top menu bar or on the LIVE banner further down.)

Aljazeera plans to add Arabic mobile website shortly with Live links. The only English news channel from the Arab world also plans to add different handset support in the coming future according to Safdar Mustafa head of AJ mobile unit.

11 days ago, the number 1 TV station in the Arab world has launched its Arabic channel Live streaming iPhone app for free and made its apps on Symbian and Windows Mobile free.

Eric Schmidt CEO of Google (the only company than managed to compete with Microsoft in all fronts and lead) is now in Dubai for Abu Dhabi Media Summit an event ArabCcrunch was not invited to! ( I was invited a source confirmed seeing my badge at the event, and I just digged for the email invite and found it, i did not notice before, since I get over 100 emails per day!) However Twitter is not short in leaking news and content.

Wael Ghonim Google MENA Marketing Director posted some updates about his speech at the conference on his Twitter timeline.

Eric said in the summit that “silicon valley companies have big interest in MENA as a fast growing region.” a fact that is not only backed by Yahoo! ’s maktoob acquisition last year, but also with a number of facts: Facebook Arabizing its UI, Skype Arabizing its UI and opening an office in the region, also the number one country which has the highest visits to ArabCrunch EN is USA and the number one stats is California home of Silicon Valley.

Eric also revealed more interesting facts and stats:

- 9% of time spent online is on facebook and youtube .. 20% of americans spends more than 2 hours online.

-about a billion people are coming online for the first time in the next three years

-politicians are more aware now that everything they do or say is broadcasted to everyone

-commenting in USA Iran sanctions: A best way to liberate a society is to enable them to communicate

-one third of MENA population are younger than 14 .. These guys are going to get online in few years.

(via Wael Ghonim on Twitter, follow him at ArabCrunch.NET here.)

As we update the news about Google offering Palestine free SMS chat via gmail with info from a trusted source that Google also offers this feature to the African country Ghana and “Israel”, Google spokesman just confirmed officially that update, here is the list of mobile operators list of operators Google Free SMS chat currently support:

• Ghana: MTN, Zain, Tigo, Kasapa.
• Israel: Pelephone and Orange.
• Palestinian Territories: Jawwal.
• United States: All operators.

It is worth mentioning that in Palestine and Arab countries the person who sends the SMS is the one who gets charged unlike USA where the receiver (update: and the sender ) hold the burden.

Google spokesman commented on the subject by saying:

“SMS in Gmail Chat is a feature that allows Gmail users to send SMS messages to their contacts? mobile phones using Gmail Chat. We believe SMS in Gmail Chat bridges online and mobile communications, bringing a new level of flexibility and mobility to Gmail Chat. We hope to extend this to additional countries and additional carriers in the future, but have nothing to announce at this time.”

Google’s CEO Eric Emerson Schmidt is present right now in United Arab Emirates where he attended Abu Dhabi Media Summit.

Welcome Eric

Update: as per our suspicion it turned out that “Israel” and Ghana have the service too.

Google has a neat gmail feature that lets user to send free text messages (SMS) to their friends directly from your Gmail account that works the same way gtalk works. Gmail SMS service was originally launched only for US mobile numbers in 2008. But now it has been available in Palestine for free via the palestinian mobile operator Jawwal (now owned by Zain) . Google verifies Palestine as the “Palestinian territories” which to them is West Bank and Gaza.

We do not know why Palestine from all the world’s countries? we will ask google now and let you know. Update: it turned out that “Israel” and Ghana have the service too, but palestine is the only Arab country that has the service

Google recognized Palestinian people in west bank, when it launched last year google.PS special domain for Palestine as ArabCrunch broke.

#Thanks to Ibrahem Eljabour for the tip.

Call it web 3.0 or Augmented reality (AR), the technology that overlays digital content such as text, graphics, or 3D models on real objects through any video output. A Technology that is changing the face of life because of the way it makes life easier.

In the last months of 20009 we saw a spike in startups and companies entering the AR space, however innovation is not near ending in this space as germany based metaio released a new version of its open augmented reality browser junaio 2.0 The version 2.0 is now available in the iPhone App Store offering Indoor usage, web- and user-based information channels and an open API for developers to an open browser platform enabling everyone to create and experience mobile augmented reality.

What is more junaio 2.0 is first to enable AR the possibilities indoors. By combining the GPS- and compass-based geo-information with the so called LLA-marker- technology that is patent pending- users now can experience augmented reality not only in the world outside but even within buildings. This feature can be used e.g. for museums where visitors can point their camera on the info next to the exhibits and gather information directly on their mobile phone. “

The feature can be experienced with the “scavengAR”-hunt by Porter Novelli at the famous South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin, Texas, UAS. Where visitors have to find clues in the real world throughout the SXSW venues, collect digital items on them and be the first to finish the augmented reality scavenger hunt and win prizes.

Social AR Channel Concept Meets Twitter

junaio 2.0 also introduceing a new way to arrange the location based content and LBS by offering mobile content channels in the real world via augmented reality. The currently include the categories: News, Culture, Shopping, Games, Travel or Food and for example help users to find the closest and best rated restaurant more easily. Furthermore every user can set up his/her personal channel and share posts, notes or points of interests with friends or make channels public to everyone. With this feature users can share their experiences, 3D objects, Twitter messages, website infos or recommendations of nearby locations with their friends and build the junaio-social community.

The first content provider channels included within the junaio 2.0 platform, will be a US-based transportation service provider (tba.) and the Eventful Channel.

Mobile devices are being used in many ways and every day they are getting smarter, as a result there  are new markets being opened by the abilities of smart phones. Today, Juniper Research published a report that estimate a “mobile retail market” to exceed $12 billion by 2014.

The mobile marketing and retail strategies report found that the mobile retail sector – defined by Juniper as comprising mobile coupon redemption values, smart poster fees and advertising expenditure – would initially be dominated by coupons.

The report found that mobile advertising expenditure would exceed coupon redemption values by 2013 as digital adspend is increasingly transferred into the mobile space.

As the retailing industry and brands are becoming aware of, and implementing the mobile device into, the retail cycle. According to report co-author Howard Wilcox, “Retailers have recognised that, even ahead of their wallets, people will usually make sure they do not leave home without their mobile device.

The mobile channel offers merchants the opportunity to differentiate from their competition and acquire customers that become loyal.” Meanwhile, additional factors such as the growth of the mobile web, the availability of high speed mobile broadband networks, and the ever-growing usage of SMS were offering retailers, brands and merchants new opportunities to communicate with customers and potential customers and to offer the ability for them to shop by mobile.

Other findings from the Juniper report include:
·         For brands and retailers, mobile offers the ability to change campaigns quickly (for example by time of day), and crucially the ability to track the success and customer acquisition rates.
·         Usage of the mobile in a live shopping situation can be particularly effective – for example for product price comparisons.
·         While the mobile will be an effective channel for younger users who organise their lives around their mobile phones, older demographic groups are likely to be less receptive to using their mobiles in a retail situation.

#image by hiromy.

Until recently Google presence in the region was with a small office in Dubai, Cairo and Saudi Arabia, with a small team whose focus was in Google Ad words, marketing, PR and Arabizing some of its products, excluding the fully Arabic Google’s Ejabat. While all the development work for Google has been carried out from its center in Switzerland.

However, we see now a major change in that direction as we see bigger regional push from Google, as its now seeking to employ more people in the region. This comes few months after Yahoo!’s acquisition of the largest Arab portal : Maktoob.

Recently Google was looking for Head of Arabia – Emerging EMEA, who according to the job post will be developing a business plan for google in the region and select which markets to focus on.

Google also is looking for a Regional Marketing Manager, Middle East North Africa (MENA) ,Policy Manager, Middle East and Northern Africa – Cairo or Dubai at Google and Enterprise Account Manager, MENA – Dubai.

We wrote last August 2009 about a 3 different e-commerce approaches in Jordan mentioning PhotoJONET, A photo storage and printing website service. But PhotoJONET did not live long due to disagreement between its founders.

Today PhotoJonet cofounder Issam Hijaz is brining his startup again but under a new name: Snap2Shop and a new partner with a new plans including regional expansion.

Like PhotoJONET Snap2Shop enables users to upload photos, order prints and pay cash on devilry  making life a bet easier for printing quality photos. And it does not only cover Amman, but this time all jordan, Issam told AC, as Snap2Shop is using posta plus with delivery time up to 3 business days at a flat rate of 2 Jordanian dinars (2.82 $ USD) for prints under 20 JDs . ( Celebrating its launch Snap2Shop is giving away new users 10 free photos print orders)

Issam told ArabCrunch that they will be adding online payment in partnership with visa Jordan and plans a mobile app on Symbion and iPhone.

(Follow Snap2Shop on ArabCrunch.NET here.)

With US recessions not yet over and jobs market still tight, every penny you have can adds up to your bottom-line. With bunndlebuy you can save hard-earned currency in buying music, outdoor, Sunglasses and DVD items by leveraging your social circle or similar buyers to get bargain deals.

The way bundlebuy works according to Amad Almasodi cofounder and CIO of Bunndelbuy is as the following:

1-Say you have a seller who sells an item for 100 USD and you ask him how much would it cost to buy 50 items of your product? and he offer each one at 70 or 80 USD.

2-Bunndlebuy do not buy them now, rather offer the merchant tentative commitment.

3- Then Bundlebuy.com adds the deal which would be the cheapest price in town, but in order for buyers to get it, 50 people have to join the bundle. When the number of “bundlers” is complete, say 50 buyers or more. Bundlebuy, charge their credit cards and buy the products and have the seller send them to the buyers. If the deal gets less than the 50 lets say, only 2 or 5 buyers, Bundlebuy cancels the deal and don’t charge the credit cards.

So if you want to buy an item make sure to share it in your facebook and Twitter followers, so you can get more buyers to help you get the deal.

This innovative group buying or social buying solution is only available to the US market in the time being with plans to expand to the Arab market, according to Amad.

Amad who is from Yaman has cofounded this project with 2 of his MBA colleagues: Ryan Hart CEO of BunndleBuy and Kyle Hart  as COO.

Great idea, the startup monetization model is from commissions earned from each item sold via the site (Lookup Bundlebuy ArabCrunch.NET profile.)