Samsung Galaxy S5 Breaks Records With Over 100K Pre-Registrations At T-Mobile In Under Two Days

T-Mobile CMO Mike Sievert is pumped about Samsung’s new Galaxy S5 smartphone: Today, the executive tweeted that Samsung’s latest flagship is a record-breaker at the carrier, with over 100,000 pre-registrations in under 48 hours since its announcement.

Pre-registrations are notably not pre-sales – they represent just consumer interest in an upcoming device, not a commitment to buy. Still, Sievert says that this indicates the launch of Samsung’s upcoming phone will “be big,” according to another tweet.

Facebook Buying WhatsApp For $19B, Will Keep The Messaging Service Independent

Facebook is purchasing messaging giant WhatsApp for $16 billion in cash and stock, according to a regulatory filing. The deal is being cut for $12 billion in Facebook shares, $4 billion in cash and an additional $3 billion in RSUs for employee retention.

A termination fee is attached to the deal that would cost Facebook $1 billion in cash and $1 billion in shares if the deal fails to pass regulatory muster.

Facebook has posted on its blog, detailing the reasoning behind the acquisition, as well. The post notes that WhatsApp will continue to operate independently and retain its brand. In addition, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum will join Facebook’s board.

Facebook notes that WhatsApp has over 450 million MAUs, with 70 percent of those active each day. In a staggering comparison, Facebook also notes that the messaging volume of WhatsApp approaches the SMS volume of the entire global telecom industry — and that it’s adding 1 million users a day.

“WhatsApp is on a path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO in a statement.

“WhatsApp had every option in the world,” Zuckerberg continued in a post to his Facebook page, “so I’m thrilled that they chose to work with us. I’m looking forward to what Facebook and WhatsApp can do together, and to developing great new mobile services that give people even more options for connecting. I’ve also known Jan for a long time, and I know that we both share the vision of making the world more open and connected. I’m particularly happy that Jan has agreed to join the Facebook board and partner with me to shape Facebook’s future as well as WhatsApp’s.”

Jan Koum, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO, said, “WhatsApp’s extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide.”

Facebook specifically calls out its deal with Instagram as a template for how it will deal with WhatsApp:

Facebook fosters an environment where independent-minded entrepreneurs can build companies, set their own direction and focus on growth while also benefiting from Facebook’s expertise, resources and scale. This approach is working well with Instagram, and WhatsApp will operate in this manner. WhatsApp’s brand will be maintained; its headquarters will remain in Mountain View, CA; Jan Koum will join Facebook’s Board of Directors; and WhatsApp’s core messaging product and Facebook’s existing Messenger app will continue to operate as standalone applications.

In a post on the WhatsApp blog, Koum elaborates on that:

Here’s what will change for you, our users: nothing.

WhatsApp will remain autonomous and operate independently. You can continue to enjoy the service for a nominal fee. You can continue to use WhatsApp no matter where in the world you are, or what smartphone you’re using. And you can still count on absolutely no ads interrupting your communication. There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product.

The note about no advertising is interesting, as that’s obviously Facebook’s primary method of monetization on its main platform — and now Instagram. WhatsApp will also keep its subscription fees, which amount to $1 per user after the first year of use.

WhatsApp investor Sequoia has also posted some information about the acquisition, specifically its very large valuation. The company notes that it only has 32 engineers — making the ratio 1 engineer to every 14 million users. It processes 50 billion messages a day across seven platforms.

The image above is a note that Koum keeps on his desk, outlining the focus of the company on building a ‘focused messaging experience’. Sequioa’s Jim Goetz says that founder Koum’s time growing up in a communist country shaped how he developed WhatsApp.

“Jan’s childhood made him appreciate communication that was not bugged or taped. When he arrived in the U.S. as a 16-year-old immigrant living on food stamps, he had the extra incentive of wanting to stay in touch with his family in Russia and the Ukraine,” says Goetz. “All of this was top of mind for Jan when, after years of working together with his mentor Brian at Yahoo, he began to build WhatsApp.”

Goetz also calls out the 450M user number and the fact that it has spent exactly $0 on marketing and doesn’t even employ a PR person or marketer; its growth all coming from users.

WhatsApp only employs around 50 people total. At 32 engineers, that’s $500 million per engineer.

Facebook currently boasts 556 million mobile daily active users, and WhatsApp alone already has over half of that at 350 million. One particular reason Facebook could be purchasing WhatsApp is to bolster its International footprint — as exemplified by one very telling chart. TechCrunch had previously heard about some abortive acquisition talks between Facebook and WhatsApp in late 2012.

Facebook is currently down in after hours trading.

Microsoft’s Next CEO Reportedly Will Be Its Cloud Boss Satya Nadella, Gates Could Be Replaced On Board

After a search that stretched for months, reports are out today that Microsoft will select internal candidate Satya Nadella as its next CEO. Nadella is known for his work with cloud computing at Microsoft and deep technical knowledge.

The company kicked off its hunt for a new head last year when long-time CEO Steve Ballmer announced that he would step down within a year. Nadella has long been a candidate for the role. If Microsoft does select him to replace Ballmer, it won’t be surprising.

During the CEO dance, candidates from companies as far-flung as Ford were discussed. Internal candidates rose and fell, including the company’s soon to return former executive Stephen Elop.

According to Bloomberg’s Emily Chang, the company’s founder and long-time chairman of its board could be replaced. The replacing of Gates would be more than symbolic. His stature on the board has caused some to fret that he could hold back a new CEO, exerting outsized influence as shareholder and former CEO.

A Hand-Drawn History of Facebook....

It’s hard to believe that it has been 10 years since the launch of Facebook. Ten years of new features, design updates and endlessly stalking classmates, coworkers and ex-girlfriends.

To commemorate the social giant’s big day, we put together this animated whiteboard video. It will take you through Facebook’s journey from a Harvard dorm room to a billion computers worldwide.

SEE ALSO: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Growing Old With Facebook

Facebook is probably part of your everyday life, but do you know how much the company was worth when it went public? How about the exact date and time it hit 1 billion users? Watch above.

Google Redesigns AdWords To Match Its Other Web Apps

Google’s AdWords now sports a much-needed update that brings its design up to par with most of the company’s other web apps.

Most of Google’s services, including Gmail, Drive and Analytics, now sport the company’s new, flat look. Even after a few years of going through this process, however, some apps still look just like they did back in 2011. Both AdSense and AdWords, the publisher and advertiser back ends to the company’s most important revenue sources, were among the services that were left behind in the first waves of the redesign.

AdSense started testing a new homepage last November and it got a bit of a facelift back in 2012, too.

With today’s change, AdWords’ interface now looks more like Gmail and also sports the same gear icon you find in most of Google’s consumer apps to get to the settings menu. Of course, it will also feature the same colors and other design elements that are now part of Google’s design language for web apps.

If you’ve spent some time in Google Analytics, this new look will feel pretty familiar (though Analytics still uses Google’s old menu bar). Google says this change is also meant to provide more real estate to the most important tools in AdWords and for the charts and tables most users rely on to track their ad campaigns.

As part of this update, Google has also made it easier to see who else is currently signed into your account.

Google Launches AdSense Direct, A New Tool For Direct Ad Sales

Google today launched AdSense Direct, a new tool for publishers who – as the name implies – want to sell ads directly and aren’t large enough to make dealing with the complexities of DoubleClick for Publishers worth their while.

This puts it into direct competition with iSocket, BuySellAds and other services that make it easier for smaller publishers to sell ads directly. This also marks Google’s first foray into this area of the advertising business for small publishers. AdSense, after all, has always been about programmatically choosing ads to display on a given site based on the content on the site and Google’s knowledge of what a specific reader is likely interested in.


With AdSense Direct, which is currently only available in the U.S., publishers can make deals with individual advertisers – no matter whether the publisher is on AdWords or not. Publishers can simply give potential advertisers a link to their AdSense Direct page and all the publishers have to do is upload their creative and pay for the ad.

Google takes a 15 percent cut from all AdSense Direct transactions. All invoicing and billing is handled through Google Wallet.

There are no upper or lower limits for the number of impressions served through one of these campaigns, by the way. Advertisers simply buy the space for a given day or longer time period, though campaigns can’t last longer than 90 days.

As a site becomes more popular, direct ad deals tend to be far more lucrative than just running basic AdSense ads. Google recommends a price when publishers set up a new campaign and the company says its research has shown that publishers can generally charge about 2.5x the price of a standard contextually targeted ad.

Yahoo Acquires Mobile Marketing Startup Sparq

Mobile marketing company Sparq announced on its site today that it has been acquired by Yahoo. The company did not disclose the purchase price.

Yahoo declined to illustrate the deal’s financial details. Sparq’s team will be joining Yahoo’s Sunnyvale campus.

Before it was acquired, Sparq raised a total of $1.7 million over several small rounds, most recently picking up more than $650,000 last year.

According to a Yahoo spokesperson, the company’s technology helped users “jump from app to app to discover, consume and engage with content.” Or, put more simply, it helped users take in more total mobile content.

The fit with Yahoo is quite plain: Yahoo needs to monetize its mobile user base if it wants its mobile-first strategy to drive lacking revenue growth. Picking up a firm that specializes in that space is reasonable.

And, given how little the company raised, it was likely a cheap pick-up for Yahoo.

Given Sparq’s focus on inter-app movement, Yahoo might be able to deploy its technology to help its users move between its own stable of applications. It isn’t clear if the company’s assets will be used in that fashion. However, if Yahoo could lash its apps together in a more cohesive fashion, it could bolster its engagement per user, and presumably its revenue per user. For a company that is forcing Wall Street to remain patient in the face of its slipping top line, such increases would be welcome indeed.