Tabbedout, the Austin-based mobile payment solution that enables customers to open, view and pay their bar or restaurant tab with their phone, has launched a new feature that allows users to opt-in for Tabbedout Offers—discounts and specials, like a reduced tab — that will automatically appear in the app. Tabbedout chose to launch the beta version of Tabbedout Offers locally because of Austin’s high number of tech-savvy consumers who are regularly on the forefront of [...]

SceneTap, a technology and nightlife company that gives consumers real-time info on the local bar scene, announced today that its launch in the Austin market will take place on Friday, Dec. 9, 2011. SceneTap has also relocated its headquarters to Austin, though the company will maintain a strong Chicago presence. A free app for iPhone, Android and the Web, SceneTap uses anonymous facial detection technology to provide consumers with real-time information on the local bar [...]

mobileTech Tuesday, by Steve Guengerich I attended Dell World 2011 last week and it was pretty remarkable on a number of levels. On one level, I reflected on Dell’s maturation as an enterprise. While the majority of what we write about in AustinStartup.com are new hardware and software ideas being brought to market, it’s easy to forget a couple of things. One, that Dell itself – presently 41st on the Fortune 500 list of largest [...]

Rallyhood, a group coordination app, announced the launch of the first consumer-focused online and mobile app that provide all the social and productivity tools needed to allow groups of any size or type to easily stay organized and rally around a common cause (video here). Instead of logging into to multiple sites and using email to organize a group effort, Rallyhood delivers all the tools needed in one easy-to-use app. The free mobile app is [...]

mobileTech Tuesday, by Steve Guengerich The past week has been a whirlwind of travel and events: from San Francisco to Grand Rapids to Austin. Along the way, I’ve had a chance to try out apps for each event, using my trusty iPhone 3GS – yes, I’m one of those who skipped 1st gen iPhone 4 and am likely to be a 4S purchaser! Here are some impressions of the event apps, working backwards, with a [...]

A guest piece by Jay Willingham, Account Manager at Mutual Mobile. Once upon a time, a phone was just a phone. Then it became our camera, radio, and even TV. Yesterday, with the announcement of its Near Field Communication (NFC) mobile commerce program, Google made it our wallet. But that’s only the start of how NFC will affect our lives. Google Wallet makes paying for everything from a T-shirt to a soda as easy as [...]

IngZ, Inc., an Austin-based mobile software development company, announced today the release of its flagship dominoes game Dominos-42 3D for iPhone, iPad, and iTouch, available now in the iTunes App Store: http://bit.ly/iZdIUS. Dominos 42 has a long and storied history in East Texas where it is played as a sport by clubs at a university in College Station and elsewhere. Dominos 42 3D is played like a card game with suits, bidding, and trump, but [...]

Today, at Wainhouse Research’s Collaboration Service Provider Summit, Callvine (which launched in August) introduced scheduled calls with calendar integration to their Group Call & Text App for the Apple iPhone. With Group Text & Call users can now easily schedule group calls, including one-time and recurring conference calls, directly from their iPhones. Scheduled calls are automatically synchronized to all Group Call participants’ existing calendar application. The new updated Callvine Group Call & Text app is [...]

I’ve been tracking the progress of CallVine very closely since meeting company CEO Rudy Prince several months ago. It has always seemed to me that the capacity for my iPhone to manage group communications has always been lacking. When I saw Rudy at the most recent Austin Tech Happy Hour, I was excited to hear that the app had been submitted to the app store for review. Today, the company is officially announcing the general availability (I just downloaded 1.0.1 today), and pricing details.

During yesterday’s Apple developer preview, the latest addition to Apple’s arsenal was unveiled, iAd. The platform aims to make it easy for developers to monetize their free iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad applications by providing a simple, Apple controlled platform that allows them to provide ads to their users.

While there is nothing revolutionary about ad networks, I believe this specific implementation is. Why?