In This Update:
• Consolidation in the EBook Market: Amazon Acquires Stanza
• Samsung Plans First Android Phone for Europe
• Media6 Degrees Will Use $10 Million Funding to Expand Staff
• News Corp Installs New MySpace Exec Team
• Xobni Launching Application Around Facebook’s New Open APIs Cablevision Rolls Out 
• Super-Fast Internet Access
• Japan, China Eye Cooperation on Mobile Services
• Joost Shopping for Cable TV Buyer
• New Enterprise Associates Raises Additional $1 Billion for Latest Fund
• Marin Software Adds $13 Million Third Round for SEM Tech

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Consolidation in the EBook Market: Amazon Acquires Stanza
READ WRITE WEB
Lexcycle, the company behind Stanza, a popular eBook reader for the iPhone, just announced that it has been acquired by Amazon. Amazon, of course, also just released Kindle for iPhone, which is now one of the most popular mobile eBook readers. According to Lexcycle, the company does not plan to make any changes to the Stanza app or user experience because of this acquisition, and Lexcycle will continue its relationships with its content partners. Neither Stanza nor Amazon disclosed the price of the acquisition. Stanza currently offers about 50,000 titles from partners like the Fictionwise eReader store and O’Reilly, and another 50,000 free books for sources like Project Gutenberg and Feedbooks.
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Samsung Plans First Android Phone for Europe
REUTERS
Samsung Electronics Co said on Monday that its first phone based on Google Inc’s Android operating system would be available in major European countries Europe in June. The company said its 17500 phone has touchscreen controls and runs on networks based on HSDPA, a high-speed wireless technology popular in Europe. Samsung did not reveal specific plans for selling the phone in the United States where smaller rival Motorola Inc is developing its own range of phones based on Android for release later this year. Android integrates features such as Gmail and Google maps in the phone and includes a virtual store for software applications, competing with the App Store that helped sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone.
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Media6 Degrees Will Use $10 Million Funding to Expand Staff
CLICK Z NEWS
Media6 Degrees, a behavioral targeting firm that helps marketers connect with consumer segments by tracking their use of the social graph, has secured $9.8 million in Series A funding from venture capital firm Venrock. Media6, which is based in New York, will use the money almost exclusively to hire new staff to meet customer demand, said Joe Doran, Media6 CEO and former Microsoft advertising executive. “We want to grow a lot faster than we had planned originally, and this allows us to fuel our expansion,” he said. The company will celebrate its one-year anniversary in May.
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Disclaimer : Media6 Degrees is a former client of Progress Partners, Inc.

News Corp Installs New MySpace Exec Team
VENTURE BEAT
MySpace’s plan for rejuvenation is starting to come together. Today, it’s bringing on serial entrepreneurs from the tech industry, who can potentially figure out how to improve its product. Mike Jones is its new chief operating officer and Jason Hirschhorn is its new chief product officer. They’ll be reporting to former Facebook executive and Project Playlist chief executive Owen Van Natta, who became MySpace’s chief executive in a quick management change-up last week. All of these moves are apparently at the instigation of Jon Miller, the new digital media head at News Corp, which owns MySpace.
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Xobni Launching Application Around Facebook’s New Open APIs
PULSE2
It was announed that Facebook would be opening up a new set of APIs to build an ecosystem of applications around profiles and the user homepage. Xobni, the plugin made around Microsoft Outlook is one of the first companies to jump on board with the new set of APIs. In the sidebar of Mirosoft Outlook, Xobni will display links, pictures, status messages, contact info, and current position listed on LinkedIn. Xobni will also show recent wall posts made of the contact’s Facebook profile and will give you the option to comment or “Like” the data listed.
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Cablevision Rolls Out Super-Fast Internet Access
REUTERS
Cablevision Systems Corp plans to roll out super-fast Internet access connections that can allow a customer to download a full-length high-definition movie in less 10 minutes. The New York-based cable operator said on Tuesday it is also doubling the speed of its Wi-Fi wireless Internet service — free for subscribers — as it steps up its offerings to counter the competitive threat of Verizon Communications’ FiOS service. Cablevision customers will pay nearly $100 a month to use the new high-speed Internet service, which will deliver download speeds of up to 101 megabits per second and upload speeds of up to 15 megabits per second. Such speeds can enable the download of up to 750 digital photos or 150 songs in one minute.
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Japan, China Eye Cooperation on Mobile Services
REUTERS
Japan’s mobile services use third-generation networks, which allow higher-speed data transmission than the second-generation services that still dominate in China. Sharp Corp, Panasonic Corp and other Japanese cellphone makers have struggled to make inroads in the Chinese market, the world’s biggest, partly due to technological differences while rivals like Nokia have been more successful. The Nikkei business daily reported that Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao are expected to agree on an alliance in new equipment and broadband services, when they meet on Wednesday in Beijing.
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Joost Shopping for Cable TV Buyer
PULSE2
Niklas Zennström and Janus Friis founded Joost after the success they had with Skype and Kazaa. Joost is not exactly a success story despite all of the funding the company has raised. From Sequoia Capital itself, Joost raised $45 million. Now the company is in talks for an acquisition.Time Warner is in talks with the company according to a source with the Associated Press. Time Warner wants to buy Joost at a low price which is bad for Sequoia. Supposedly Comcast has already turned down buying Joost beause they already own a competing service called Fancast. Viacom and CBS both have also invested a considerable amount in Joost which makes a potential acquisition from a competing network even more interesting.
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New Enterprise Associates Raises Additional $1 Billion for Latest Fund
PAID CONTENT
New Enterprise Associates has added $1 billion to its latest fund, bringing the total money raised for the fund to $2.2 billion. NEA’s goal is to raise $2.5 billion, according to VentureBeat. It had closed on the first $1.2 billion in January and has since raised funds from Teacher Retirement System of Texas ($150 million), the San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System and the Indiana State Teacher’s Retirement Fund. The venture fund invests in companies across a range of sectors, from digital media to information technology to healthcare. Portfolio companies include Xoom, Glu Mobile (which went public in 2007), and Advertising.com. It raised its last fund in 2006, also $2.5 billion.
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Marin Software Adds $13 Million Third Round for SEM Tech
PAID CONTENT
Search marketing tech firm Marin Software has raised $13 million in a third round of funding. DAG Ventures led the round; previous investors Benchmark Capital and Amicus Capital also participated, along with new investor Focus Ventures. S.F.-based Marin says it has raised $25 million in total, including a $7.25 million second round last year. Its first round was undisclosed.
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Tags: Amazon, Apple, Boston, CBS, Cisco, eBook, EMI, Europe, Facebook, GMail, Google, IAB, IAC, Informa, iPhone, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Mobile, Motorola, MySpace, New York, Nokia, NYT, Opera, Progress Partners, Reuters, RIM, Samsung, San Francisco, SEC, Sequoia Capital, Time Warner, Venture Capital, Verizon