EWDN's report on Russian E-commerce: Free downloads

Mobile social banking arrives in Russia

By Andrii Degeler, East-West Digital News / May 17, 2013 / 1 Comment

Russian iPhone users can now experiment with social banking – an entirely new concept in the country – with an app launched last month by Instabank, a Moscow-based startup. The iPhone app allows clients to transfer money to Facebook friends who also use Instabank, get notifications of new account activity, and add geotags and photos to their transactions.

At present Instabank is limiting the number of new users through an invitation-based system. Yet the company has to date received far more invitation requests than expected, marketing and communications manager Yelisey Zakharov told East-West Digital News.

Restaurant social app Gvidi wins Best Idea award in Tactrick Android Developer Cup

By East-West Digital News / May 17, 2013

Gvidi, a mobile app dedicated to restaurants, cafés and bars across Russia and neighboring countries, won the Best Idea award earlier this week in an Android developer contest organized by Tactrick Mobile Solutions.

The prize for the winner in this category is “support for the development of the product in question and its further development over the course of two months” – which basically means that Tacktrick will now finance the Gvidi app for Android.

Google shuts down Quickoffice R&D offices in Russia and Ukraine

By Andrii Degeler, East-West Digital News / May 16, 2013

Google has cancelled its contract with Doctor Mobile, the developer of the mobile applications for the Quickoffice service.

Google acquired Quickoffice, which is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, in June last year for an undisclosed sum. Now, less than a year later, Google is shutting down two of its offices, namely in Saint Petersburg (Russia) and Kharkiv (Ukraine), where more than 100 people are working.

Skolkovo claims it reduces brain drain from Russia; announces new R&D center in Amsterdam

By Andrii Degeler, East-West Digital News / May 16, 2013

In his speech at a plenary session held in Skolkovo’s Hypercube building last month, Viktor Vekselberg, the tech hub’s president, identified the emigration of tech specialists as one of Russia’s most pressing issues.

“It’s a shame to hear Russian speech everywhere when you go to Silicon Valley,” Vekselberg said. “Large [Russian] corporations need to be actively involved in the training and motivation of young people. It is necessary to restore Russia’s prestige in scientific activities.”

Google slow to penetrate Russia: battles with Yandex, lawsuit vs. government over content filtering

By Andrii Degeler, East-West Digital News / May 16, 2013

After many years spent unsuccessfully challenging local search giant Yandex for the Russian market, Google appears to have re-thought its strategy – though still not always finding common ground with Russian authorities.

In an interview with news agency RIA Novosti earlier this week, Google Russia CEO Yuliya Solovyova stated that the corporation considers Russia a most important region and is ready to prove it. However, she said, “Being the leader specifically in search is not a task we have set ourselves. We want to break the stereotype that Google is only about search. Our scope is much wider than that.”

Yandex announces its summer school for startups – Tolstoy Summer Camp

A press release from Yandex / May 16, 2013

Yandex’s new startup accelerator, Tolstoy Summer Camp, opens for young entrepreneurs and internet specialists who would like to learn how to start their own startup.

The program will bring together young web developers, UI designers and project managers with an idea, but without resources to implement it and present it to investors. We also welcome those with a desire, experience and skills to work on an interesting project, even if they don’t have any idea to develop.

$100 million technopark mapped out in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

By Marchmont News, East-West Digital News / May 15, 2013

Authorities in the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia have unveiled plans to build a 3 billion ruble (approximately $100 million) hi-tech industrial park in the region, the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS reported, citing a source in the regional Ministry of Investment and Innovation.

According to the source, more than two thirds of the total amount is expected to come from private investors, with regional and federal coffers kicking in the rest. The new techno-park is slated for completion “within the next two years.”

Russian microelectronics maker unveils its own ultra-small RFID chip

By Oleg Kouzbit, East-West Digital News / May 15, 2013

Mikron, a 50-year-old Russian microelectronics maker located in Zelenograd just outside Moscow, announced earlier this week that it has developed its own subminiature RFID chip.

The ISO 14443-2.3 standard chip, just 0.2 square millimeters in area, is purported to retain the functionality of a conventional chip while offering a more competitive price.

ASOS opens in Russia

A comment by Peter Leighton Prabhu of Interstice Consulting in partnership with East-West Digital News / May 14, 2013

Joining the ranks of leading international e-commerce companies like Amazon, Kayak, Airbnb and eBay either announcing plans or opening a localized Russian offering, UK-based ASOS has officially launched the Russian version of its site.

The ASOS Russia country site is the latest edition to the company’s country-specific sites, joining the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Australia. Importantly, this is their first localized site in an “emerging market” country. A dedicated China site is due to launch by the end of 2013.

Dubna university puts IT-enabled ‘intelligent guard’ at its gate

By Marchmont News / May 14, 2013

The Dubna International University of Nature, Society and Man, located in the town of Dubna some 130km north of Moscow, has announced that its innovators have developed software for an intelligent video surveillance system that can automatically recognize vehicles’ license plates and control road gates to let authorized vehicles pass inside a secure area.

The system is a joint project between the university and Tsezis, a small spin-off innovation company set up by the university and Nordavind, a resident of the nearby Dubna Special Economic Zone.

Mobile social banking arrives in Russia

Restaurant social app Gvidi wins Best Idea award in Tactrick Android Developer Cup

Google shuts down Quickoffice R&D offices in Russia and Ukraine

Skolkovo claims it reduces brain drain from Russia; announces new R&D center in Amsterdam

Google slow to penetrate Russia: battles with Yandex, lawsuit vs. government over content filtering

Yandex announces its summer school for startups – Tolstoy Summer Camp

$100 million technopark mapped out in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia

Russian microelectronics maker unveils its own ultra-small RFID chip

ASOS opens in Russia

Dubna university puts IT-enabled ‘intelligent guard’ at its gate

EAST-WEST LIVE

DETAILS TO FOLLOW SOON ON EWDN

HOT EVENTS

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Most popular ...

Sibirtelecom IPTV now available in Altai Republic

Vkontakte’s IPO “postponed indefinitely;” shareholder Mail.ru Group yields control to founder

Russian fund invests in Israeli VAS Unicell

Siberia on its way to create its own analog of Silicon Valley

The spark that ignited the Russian start-up scene

Flash in the pan vs. genuine innovation strategy: Russia’s modernization debate gains momentum

Innovation by large companies in Russia: Mechanisms, barriers, perspectives

Mobile Internet usage in Moscow

Internet penetration in Russia

“Our team fucked up in Russia, I lost tons of money,” says Lamoda.ru’s German owner Oliver Samwer

Efim Bushmanov: “Good products can’t stay proprietary for long”

Efim Voinov, designer of Cut The Rope: “You will soon see Om Nom in smart TVs, tablets, toys and t-shirts on a global scale”

ADVERTISEMENT