Obama leads in mobile tech use

Barack Obama leads the pack among US presidential candidates using mobile communications technology, which Jupiter Research says seems to be the most popular communications technology among young people, reports Information Week.

Few candidates are taking advantage of mobile technology for campaigning, said Julie Ask, research director and senior analyst for Jupiter Research.

Obama has a branded short code for text messaging that spells his last name, while Hillary Clinton and John Edwards have registered codes that don't relate to anything recognisable about them. Obama offers a mobile icon high on his Web page; ringtones; wallpaper; and an explanation that standard rates apply to text messages, while Clinton and Edwards offer less visibility and content for mobile features.

Google announced its intentions to buy Postini, a vendor of on-demand messaging security and compliance applications, reports Information Week

Shareholders saw the acquisition as a way for Google to create an attractive on-demand offering across the market, by combining an enterprise-class, hosted messaging suite with Gmail and other applications.

In February, Google began offering a low-cost suite of online software that includes e-mail, calendaring and word processing. With Postini, Google will be able to address security, too.

Coversant announced the new version of SoapBox Communicator, a downloadable Windows application that enables any XMPP user to chat, share rich media and collaborate with friends for free, reports TMC Net.

Coversant developed SoapBox Communicator to make it faster and easier for people to share information they need, both individually and in groups. The solution features include easy user install and interface, SoapBox Rooms and the individual persistent chat rooms, which can be secured and configured by the owner.

SoapBox Communicator can be downloaded by users from SoapBox. Following the download, users can begin inviting others by clicking "Got Friends?" from the SoapBox contact list. Users can invite individuals, as well as create 'instant networks' using the group invite feature of SoapBox.