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It's no secret that the mobile app landscape has become extremely competitive. Over the last few years, this has led to an incredible amount of innovation and progress, but the cost of visibility -- of acquiring new users -- is also on the rise. In fact, Fiksu found that the cost of acquiring users hit a record high in December. While December is a critical month for app discovery, it remained to be seen whether or not this trend would continue. Today, W3i, the monetization and distribution network for app developers, released new user acquisition figures for the first half of 2012, and the results tell the same story. Assessing hundreds of millions of mobile users from January to June 2012, W3i found that the average cost-per-install (of CPI) of mobile apps increased by 70 percent on Android and by 56 percent on iOS.

It's no secret that the mobile app landscape has become extremely competitive. Over the last few years, this has led to an incredible amount of innovation and progress, but the cost of visibility -- of acquiring new users -- is also on the rise. In fact, Fiksu found that the cost of acquiring users hit a record high in December. While December is a critical month for app discovery, it remained to be seen whether or not this trend would continue. Today, W3i, the monetization and distribution network for app developers, released new user acquisition figures for the first half of 2012, and the results tell the same story. Assessing hundreds of millions of mobile users from January to June 2012, W3i found that the average cost-per-install (of CPI) of mobile apps increased by 70 percent on Android and by 56 percent on iOS.

Augusto Marietti, Marco Palladino and Mike Zonca founded Mashape in November 2010 to create a unified, all-in-one marketplace where one could go to find, sell, distribute, and hack on APIs, believing that APIs would become an essential part of the conversation for developers. Though it wasn't an easy road, last September Mashape raised $1.6 million from NEA, Charles River Ventures, Jeff Bezos, and Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors -- to name a few. Mashape has been in private beta since, testing its model and "building out the supply-side," says Marietti. Today, the startup is finally throwing back the curtains, officially opening to the public, with new features and inventory in stock.

Augusto Marietti, Marco Palladino and Mike Zonca founded Mashape in November 2010 to create a unified, all-in-one marketplace where one could go to find, sell, distribute, and hack on APIs, believing that APIs would become an essential part of the conversation for developers. Though it wasn't an easy road, last September Mashape raised $1.6 million from NEA, Charles River Ventures, Jeff Bezos, and Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors -- to name a few. Mashape has been in private beta since, testing its model and "building out the supply-side," says Marietti. Today, the startup is finally throwing back the curtains, officially opening to the public, with new features and inventory in stock.

"IBM wants it all and is aiming its guns on its last obstacle to industry control: Apple. Will Big Blue dominate the entire computer industry?" Steve Jobs asks us. "No," we cheer in unison. "The entire information age?" He asks again, "Was George Orwell right about 1984?" Then the Apple CEO introduces us to the famous 1984 commercial directed by Ridley Scott that has since become a classic -- some would say one of the most important commercials of all time.

Like many parents, Dan Yang was fascinated by her young daughter's obsession with her iPhone. As she went through the process of planning the best way to introduce her to technology, apps, and games, she quickly became frustrated with the lack of educational technology made specifically for children. Unlike many parents, however, Yang is an entrepreneur and optical engineer, so she did what any entrepreneurial, geeky mom would do: She decided to hack her own solution. Yang developed VINCI Early Learning Systems and VINCI tablets -- which she believes to be the first FDA-safety-compliant tablet that is designed purely for youngins. Of course, a tablet and learning tool without a supporting network or resources to supply it with content is a lonely device. So, today, the startup is announcing the release of the VINCI Kids Library, a library for kid-focused digital content and apps, including interactive stories, learning games, and over 500 titles at launch -- with what Yang expects to be 1,000 titles before the end of the year.

Open English, as its name might suggest, is an online learning platform that helps non-English speakers learn the language and speak fluently. After developing the foundation for Open English in his home country of Venezuela in 2006, Andres Moreno took his idea north to Florida, where he launched the program commercially in 2008. Since then, Open English has flourished. Today, the startup employs 1,000 people (40 of whom are in Miami), has offices across Central and South America, and serves 80,000 students in over 20 countries. Just as many American investors have started to turn their attention to Brazil, so too has Open English. Moreno sees big opportunity in Brazil, which is quickly becoming a global marketplace and is seeing demand for English-speaking talent rise dramatically. To expand its footprint in emerging markets in Brazil and South America, Open English today announced that it has taking on an impressive $43 million in venture funding.

Amazon announced its second quarter results today, coming in slightly below estimates with operating cash flow slightly ahead at $3.22 billion year-over-year, compared to $3.21 billion in the year prior. Meanwhile, free cash flow decreased 40 percent to $1.10 billion year-over-year, compared to $1.83 billion the year prior. The eCommerce giant's revenue, on the other hand, trended up significantly, increasing 29 percent to $12.83 billion in Q2 -- compared with $9.91 billion in the second quarter. A definite bright spot for Amazon. The company was quick to follow by saying that, other than the $272 million it attributes to the "unfavorable exchange rate" through the quarter, net sales "would have grown 32 percent" compared with Q2 2011, the company said.

If you're anything like me, your mood is directly proportional to the amount of food in your stomach. And when that food is terrific (and maybe even healthy, too), well life is grand. Yet, for a food-centric culture, we don't give ourselves a lot of options. If you happen to work long hours, often by the time you get around to eating, restaurants are closed -- or you're exhausted and not particularly excited by the prospect of cooking, for yourself or the family. McDonald's doesn't always seem like a good choice. Or maybe you live in what is known as a "food desert," or a location that isn't exactly brimming with healthy, affordable options. Pop-Up Pantry has your back. The Los Angeles-based startup is a new subscription club for food lovers that aims to let you bring the restaurant experience home with you. In other words, Pop-Up offers quality, three-course dinners crafted by top chefs via delivery for the same price one would pay for takeout. It's like a wine-of-the-month club but for high-end dinners that are actually affordable, says co-founder David Hauslaib.

Today, our personal data is scattered across a growing number of apps, social networks, and online services, making it tough to forge any kind of coherent online identity or personal brand. The Portland-based Vizify emerged out of TechStars last year with a simple goal: Help people make a good first impression online by transforming that fragmented data into a unified, visual profile. In January, Vizify landed its first round of funding from investors like Tim Draper and Feedburner co-founder Matt Shobe, using the investment to begin "recasting how we build and manage our identities online," says Vizify CEO Todd Silverstein. And today, Vizify is finally pulling back the curtain on the final product, officially launching a slick new way to present your personal brand.