Author: Tameka Kee

Remove the barriers to giving, and people will give. That seems to be the lesson many charities are learning in the wake of the earthquake in Haiti on Tuesday. Within 36 hours, mobile donations to relief efforts for Haiti have topped $7 million, according to the Mobile Giving Foundation.

The organization says it represents a mobile-giving record in terms of funds raised for a single cause. U.S. and Canadian supporters have been texting on behalf of a variety of organizations, as the Mobile Giving Foundation has been activating new short codes. The orgs include:

—the Yéle Foundation, the leading contributor to rebuilding Haiti founded by Wyclef Jean: Text the word “Yele” to 501501 to donate $5
—the Clinton Foundation Haiti Relief Fund: Text the word “Haiti”  to 20222 to donate $10
—the International Medical Corp: Text the word “Haiti” to 85944 to donate $10

—the International Rescue Committee: Text the word “Haiti”  to 25383 to donate $5
—the the Red Cross in the U.S.: Text the word “Haiti” to 90999 to donate $10
—the Salvation Army Upper Wisconsin: Text the word “Haiti” to 52000 to donate $10
—the Salvation Army in Canada: Text the word “Haiti” to 45678 (In Canada Only)
—the Plan Canada: Text the word “Haiti” to 30333 (In Canada Only)

The charges show up as a one-time fee on a users’ wireless bill, and the Mobile Giving Organization says 100 percent of the proceeds go to the charity (meaning no carriage fees get collected).

In related news, American Express and Visa said that they would waive or rebate all merchant transaction fees for donations made via credit card, in the wake of widespread criticism by media outlets like HuffPo. Amex will rebate the merchant fees for charities listed on the website of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) between Jan 12 and Feb 28; Visa will rebate fees generated through the end of Feb as well (via the AFP).

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• Updated: People Text To Donate As Haiti Earthquake Becomes Hot Topic On Twitter | mocoNews

Transpera, the mobile video delivery tech firm and ad network, has raised $2 million worth of a $5 million third round of funding, per an SEC filing. Transpera has raised over $10.2 million in funding, the bulk of which came in its second round in 2008.

Founded in 2007, Transpera’s previous backers include Flybridge Capital Partners, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Capital and First Round Capital. The company did not respond to a request for confirmation.

Media companies including CBS Interactive (NYSE: CBS), Disney (NYSE: DIS), MTVN (NYSE: VIA) and Showtime currently use Transpera’s mobile video delivery and ad platform to monetize their mobile content. Chairman and CEO Frank Barbieri said mobile video CPMs were hovering in the $30 to $40 range last year.

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• Federated Media COO Weisberger Leaves; Joins Mobile Video Company Transpera
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Why buy a digital camera when an iPhone or BlackBerry can take relatively decent pics? It’s likely a question that many smartphone owners—aside from pro and amateur photographers—have asked themselves at least once. For Eastman Kodak, the increased use of camera-enabled smartphones could have been a major problem in terms of lost revenue. But the company was proactive—cutting tech licensing deals with many of the big handset manufacturers— so that it could at least make money from their use of its digital imaging technology in their new phones.

Problem is, Kodak has never managed to get Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) or RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) to agree to any licensing deals—meaning it’s not getting a cut of the billions of dollars worth of sales of two of the most popular camera-enabled smartphones. So it’s suing both companies for patent infringement.

Kodak first filed suit with the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming that Apple’s iPhones and RIM’s camera-enabled BlackBerry devices infringe on a tech patent it holds for image previews. Separately, it filed two other suits against Apple in a New York District Court over digital camera and computing technology patents overall.

In the ITC case (ZDNet has the pdf), Kodak is seeking a “limited exclusion order” preventing the importation of infringing iPhones and BlackBerry devices; in the District Court cases, it’s seeking damages from Apple, and hoping to “permanently enjoin” the company from further infringement.

The company says it has been trying to negotiate licensing deals with both Apple and RIM “for years,” and that it’s been forced to file the suits “to protect the interest of our shareholders and the existing licensees of our technology.” Kodak has deals with 30 other electronics companies, including LG (SEO: 066570), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Nokia (NYSE: NOK) and Samsung. Release.

More details about Cox Communications’ forthcoming wireless service, as the company is trying to build some buzz with a new ad campaign. The service goes live in March, in the three markets it began testing this winter: Hampton Roads, Va., Omaha, Neb. and Orange County, Calif. The first set of TV and video ads will be targeted there.

The campaign focuses on common gripes like unforeseen service charges and minutes that go to waste, promising that Cox’s new service will be “unbelievably fair.” To illustrate how “unfair” other service providers can be, Cox created fake kiosks in a mall and recorded consumer reactions to their proposed contract terms.

The company launched a new site that will serve as an information hub and storefront for the service, and the video ads are also running on YouTube. Release.

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• Cox Begins Testing Wireless Network In Three Markets