In today’s mobile and social news roundup: Samsung introduces GALAXY Mega; Microsoft plans to release a 7-inch Surface tablet; Foursquare secures $41M round of funding; Facebook acquires Osmeta; and Twitter shuts door on Ribbon.

Samsung introduces GALAXY Mega

Samsung introduced a new phablet in its Galaxy line.  The GALAXY Mega comes in two sizes, one with a 6.3-inch HD screen, the other with a 5.8-inch HD screen.  The 6.3-inch version features an enhanced 8MP rear-facing, a 1.9MP front-facing camera, runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, 1.7GHz Dual Core AP, 64GB of expandable memory and comes with camera modes such as Drama Shot, Sound & Shot, Rich tone, Sports.  It also has some of the feature of other Galaxy devices such as Group Play, WatchON, Samsung Link, S Translator, Air View, Multi Window, Pop Up Play, S Voice and ChatON.  As for the 5.8-inch version, it comes with a 1.4GHz Dual Core AP and almost the same additional features as the bigger version.

“We are aware of a great potential in the bigger screen for extensive viewing multimedia, web browsing, and more,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Business, Samsung Electronics. “We are excited to provide another choice to meet our consumers’ varying lifestyles, all while maintaining the high-quality features of the award-winning GALAXY series.”

No pricing details on the MEGA line yet, but we hope it will cost less than the Galaxy S 4. Without a quad-core processor or an aluminum body, we don’t expect the 6.3″ MEGA to be priced in Samsung’s highest tier.

Microsoft plans to release a 7-inch Surface tablet

Software giant Microsoft is said to be working on a new line of Surface tablets which will include a 7-inch version.  Sources claimed that the smaller tablet is not in Microsoft’s original plan, but saw that the company needed to act fast as the demand for smaller tablets grows.

The entrance to the small tablet market is also in response to Microsoft’s growing woes, since its Surface tablets and latest software aren’t doing as well as expected.  The Windows 8 platform hasn’t revived sales of computers, as more people choose to purchase tablets rather than PCs.  Another downside is that Windows 8-based tablets aren’t still the top choice for consumers as more are interested in Android or iOS tablets.

Foursquare secures $41M round of funding

Foursquare, the location-based social networking site, has secured a $41 million round of funding from private equity fund Silver Lake Partners and venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures, and Spark Capital, though some deemed it was no longer relevant.

Earlier reports stated that Foursquare will die by the end of the year and its only hope for survival was a buyout.  Another source stated that Foursquare only brought in $2 million in revenue last year.  This funding proves that location-based social networking is still relevant and still has a lot more to offer.

“This allows us to get closer to being able to prove that there’s a real business here,” Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley says.

Facebook acquires Osmeta

Before Facebook announced Home, it was speculated that the social giant was working on a mobile software offering that would compete with Android and iOS.  But alas, Facebook Home was just an Android launcher.  But Facebook is not about to give up mobile domination, as it acquires mobile software startup Osmeta.

Osmeta consists of a 19-person engineering team of “world-renowned hackers and highly accomplished researchers capable of herculean software engineering.”  Osmeta’s team consists of people who previously worked at Google, IBM Research, Yahoo Research, and VMware.

Lexity CEO Amit Kumar believes that Osmeta refers to “meta operating system,” or the ability to run the same ‘core functionality’ across multiple platforms.

“What if Facebook decided that, strategically, they need Facebook Home to transcend every mobile device – not just Android,” Kumar writes. “Perhaps what Osmeta has built so far lets them spread Facebook Home across this fragmented device ecosystem, quickly, in a scalable fashion, and achieve a consistent, Facebook-centered experience, across all devices?”

Twitter shuts door on Ribbon

It was reported yesterday that Ribbon, the multiple platform payments method, has released support for YouTube payments and Twitter “in-stream” payment option, which allows people to purchase things without having to click away from Twitter.

After an hour or so, Ribbon’s team was shocked to find out that their Twitter Card, which allowed for seamless payment processing, was taken down by Twitter without notification.  The Ribbon links go back to Ribbon.co without the in-stream buying experience.

“Before we released this, we made sure to validate our Twitter Card implementation (screenshot below), and all lights were green,” Ribbon co-founder and CEO Hany Rashwan wrote.  “We’ve had discussions with Twitter in the past, and are eager to find a way to work together. This is clearly something that’s good for not only Twitter, but also for Twitter users all over the world.”

Ribbon is still awaiting Twitter’s response.