Samsung to launch mobile messaging app
Samsung is reportedly readying a new mobile messaging service called ChatOn.

The ChatOn app will be available for Samsung?s Bada operating system as well as for iOS, Android and BlackBerry. Users will be able to text, group chat and share images and video via the app.

The company plans to release a version for feature phones, one for smartphones and one for PCs. The service is expected to go live next month in more than 120 countries and 62 languages.

Augme completes Hipcricket acquisition
Augme Technologies Inc. has completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Hipcricket Inc. for $44.5 million.

Augme, a mobile marketing solutions provider, announced that it had agreed to acquire mobile marketing and advertising company Hipcricket earlier this month.

The deal is expected to help Augme reach consumer brands, agencies, pharmaceutical firms and media companies with a wide range of marketing solutions that target mobile devices. The combined companies will be backed by patented technology and software-as-a-service platforms.

Android makes gains in smartphone market: ComScore
Google Android ranked as the top smartphone platform with a 41.8 percent market share, up 5.4 percent, according to new data from ComScore Inc. The survey of more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers also found that Samsung was the top handset manufacturer in the United States for the three months ending July 2011.

Samsung was the top OEM with 25.5 of U.S. mobile subscribers, up 1 percentage point, followed by LG, with 20.9 percent share and Motorola with a 14.1 percent share. Apple had 9.5 percent share, up 1.2 percentage points, and RIM came in at five with 7.6 percent share.

Apple had 27 percent of the smartphone market, up 1 percentage point, RIM ranked third with 21.7 percent share, followed by Microsoft and Symbian.

Other findings include that 70 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers used text messaging in July, up 1.2 percentage points. Browsers were used by 41.1 percent of subscribers, up 2 percentage points.

Downloaded applications were used by 40.6 percent, up 2.8 percentage points. Accessing of social networking sites or blogs increased to 30.1 percent of mobile subscribers. Game-playing was done by 27.8 percent of the mobile audience while 20.3 percent listened to music on their phones.

SMS GupShup raises $10M in funding
Indian social network and group messaging provider SMS GupShup has raised $10 million in funding.

Investors in SMS GupShup include Tenaya Capital, Globespan Capital Partners and Helion Ventures.

The company will use the funds to drive product innovation, increase sales and marketing and expand globally.

Consumers use SMS GupShup to connect with their interests and businesses use it to engage with their customers and employees. SMS GupShup derives revenues from its mobile marketing and mobile CRM solutions for large and small businesses. It recently unveiled group-messaging services with carriers across Asia.

SMS GupShup has 50 million members, 5 million user-generated communities, 25,000 small businesses and 500 regional and international brands. It supports 12 percent of all mobile messaging in India?

App downloads saw a decline in July: Fisku
The number of apps downloaded declined from 4.505 million downloads per day in June to 4.25 million in July, according to new data from mobile application platform Fisku Inc. These figures are based on Fisku?s App Store Competitive Index, which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the Top 200 free iPhone apps in the United States.

Additionally, Fisku found that, following four months of increases in the cost to acquire loyal users, the cost decreased by 5.5 percent from $1.27 in June to $1.29 in July.

The dip in competition in July could be attributed to the absence of incentivized promotions, with app marketers reallocating budgets into non-incentivized promotions instead, according to Fisku.