Christmas day 2011 was a record-breaking day for Android and iOS device activations, says a new report from mobile analytics firm Flurry: Ac… Read more at paidContent »
As the year winds down, here’s a look back at the biggest, most significant things that happened in the apps we use on our smartphones and tablets this year, as well as the most important themes to watch out for come 2012. Read more »
In an apparent effort to close the gap on iOS and its developer advantage, Google has announced a new set of Android developer classes aimed at helping walk developers through a series of lessons. Android Training will offer more than 30 lessons on larger topics. Read more »
Despite the confident words of Google chairman Eric Schmidt, who predicted that Android would be the primary platform for developers, the current trends are still decidedly leaning toward iOS. Mobile analytics firm Flurry found that developers are picking iOS over Android by a 3-1 ratio. Read more »
Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are huge in the Middle East and North Africa, where they account for 55 percent of mobile Internet traffic, according to a new survey. The iPhone and the iPad trade honors as most popular device in many countries. Read more »
The Carrier IQ scandal is still unfolding, and all parties involved are trying to spin their side of the story pretty heavily. Meanwhile, the software, which monitors users’ keystrokes and text messages and can see passwords and other vulnerable information, is said to be on more than 141 million devices. So it’s worth looking at the various players to understand who is hurt and who is helped by the kerfuffle around surreptitious smartphone data collection. This brief research note tackles the question of what the Carrier IQ case means for consumers, device makers and, perhaps most important, the operators. Companies mentioned include AT&T, Research in Motion and Sprint. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Previous generations of home surveillance systems required setup via a computer (usually a PC) and had a high cost of entry, but a new crop of low-cost Internet-enabled cameras promise “post-PC” easy setup as well as iOS integration. I’ve tested two new players in this area. Read more »
The new Twitter iPhone client announced Thursday is already live in the App Store, along with an updated Android client. Here’s a look at how the new Twitter for iPhone looks and works, and how it compares to the version it replaces. Read more »
Apps just might be the next action figures, and iPad accessories the new Tickle-Me-Elmo. Judging by interest from kids and content partners, Apple won’t just be the device-maker of the future; it’ll be a toy-maker on par with the likes of Hasbro and Mattel, too. Read more »
After launching a little over three years ago, Android Market has caught fire with downloads, hitting 10 billion over the weekend. Google’s mobile application store is now up to 1 billion downloads a month, and growth is accelerating as the number of Android devices sold soars. Read more »
Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch are still among the top three mobile devices used in the U.S. and UK, according to a new report from mobile ad network JiWire on Tuesday, but they’re shedding market share. Luckily for Apple, the iPad is experiencing positive share growth. Read more »
If your company has a cloud application with a predictable audience size or one that is costing you more than $25,000 a month to host, you may want to consider maintaining a private cloud. This paper provides an overview of the factors that decision makers who are developing a public-to-private cloud-migration strategy should consider, recognizing that public versus private cloud strategy is not an all-or-nothing proposition. It also details pitfalls that must be avoided along the way and provides a case study of Zynga, a company that has found a way to use both the private and public clouds to create a hybrid solution. Companies mentioned in this report include Akamai, Foursquare, Nimbula and ARM. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
There’s no real franchise character with the kind of repeated success of something like Sonic the Hedgehog on the the iOS platform, but one contender wants to change that. Enter the adventures of Ratty, a collection of fast-paced, side-scrolling games by Donut Games. Read more »
IOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 have collectively hit 991,524 apps available in their stores with the big million unit milestone set to be reached in the next day, said an analytics firm. It’s a reminder of just how big this modern app market is. Read more »
The original Infinity Blade set standards for iOS gaming, in terms of graphics and also for gaming mechanics. The new sequel, Infinity Blade II, hit the U.S. App Store on Thursday. How does it match up to the original’s shining example? Read more »
Apple admitted on Thursday it has used and supported in the past CarrierIQ software, but it says it hasn’t used it for tracking keystrokes or messages. The company says it stopped supporting this software “in most” of its products with iOS 5. Read more »
There’s trouble in extra power land: Two types of iOS device battery cases are being recalled for overheating issues. One, for the iPod touch, could burn, and the other, for iPhone 3G and 3GS, could catch fire. From bargain brands to market leaders, no one’s safe. Read more »
Apple addressed criticism on Wednesday night that Siri, the virtual assistant built in to every iPhone 4S, couldn’t retrieve information about abortion clinics when asked. Apple’s response is basically that Siri is a beta product, but that won’t be enough to sidestep the service’s political ramifications. Read more »
The newfound popularity of the e-book is now raising questions over what exactly it will look like in the future, since digital formats allow authors and artists to offer much more than what was possible with the printed page. Social and interactive experiences within the e-book can include not only text but also audio, video or even a combination of all three, and these factors have a direct effect on the evolution of the overall e-book market. In this analysis, we identify six competitive areas of that market that will see large-scale shifts in the near future. Such rapid change will mean that in just four to five years, what a book is and what publishing is will — to many — mean something radically different than it does today. Companies mentioned in this report include Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google and Open Road. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The original Path, a social network designed around exclusive, photo-centric sharing, proved a tad underwhelming in my opinion. But version 2.0, available Wednesday, is more than just lipstick on a pig. It’s an entirely new course for Path, and a very promising one. Read more »
As it hopes to build smartphone market share, Microsoft has created a new HTML5 site that allows smartphone owners to interactively demo the Windows Phone operating system. The site works on Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android platforms and illustrates the fresh and intuitive Windows Phone interface. Read more »
TED talks are coming to the iPhone and iPod touch, thanks to a dedicated app from TED.com that features audio feeds for listening on the go. The release comes a year after the launch of the iPad app, which has been downloaded 1.9 million times. Read more »
A Nielsen study found among smartphone users who downloaded an app in the last 30 days, 83 percent used an iPhone or Android devices. That app advantage will help keep those two at the top ahead of other smartphone challengers. Read more »
The iOS 5.1 beta software from Apple was released Monday afternoon for developers, and while at first it didn’t appear to add much, investigations by users have produced a few interesting tidbits about what’s new. Most interesting of all could be references to the next iPad. Read more »
If you can’t beat iOS and Android devices in the market, you might as well secure them. That seems to be the stance of RIM, which is launching a device-management and security service for IT departments called Mobile Fusion that builds off its BlackBerry Enterprise Servers. Read more »
Apple won an impressive 42.8 percent of all U.K. smartphone sales in October, based largely on the introduction of the iPhone 4S. It’s the first time since Nov. 2010 that Apple saw its share of the U.K. smartphone market grow. Read more »
One of the first computer games I ever played at home was Zork. It was a text-based game that guided the player through a narrative of obstacles and challenges. Then came PC/Mac games like Myst and more recently Silent Hill. Now, there’s Dark Meadow on iOS. Read more »
Apple has done a lot in terms of pushing sometimes marginal technology to the fore, something it may be able to do with NFC soon, too. But narrowing down that list to a few choice selections that stand out above the rest is surprisingly easy. Read more »
Have you seen the latest Samsung Galaxy S II ad that pokes fun at iPhone buyers? It’s controversial for sure, but in some ways, Apple, too, has set a condescending tone for non-iPhone owners in its own ads. Check out the video and cast your vote. Read more »
Apple’s relationship with Samsung is on the rocks, according to an investor note from Jefferies analyst Peter Misek on Tuesday. Based on a recent trip to Japan and checks with suppliers made during that trip, Jefferies says Sharp is benefitting from the Samsung falling-out. Read more »
Apple’s market share may be slipping, but its share of app revenue is huge and not looking like it will slide anytime soon, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. Using recent numbers, Munster figures Apple owns about 85 to 90 percent of current mobile app spending. Read more »
I’ve always been a fan of side-scrolling shoot-em-up action games. Defender is one of my all-time favorite arcade games. Now I’m playing Chopper 2, and what a difference 3D makes to this type of game, especially with the litany of display options the game provides. Read more »
We’ve heard about and been excited by the possibility of iMessage coming to the OS X desktop, but there are hints that the Mac’s iChat application could jump the other way and become part of Apple’s Messages app on iOS devices. Read more »
Google has re-introduced its native iOS Gmail app to the App Store, with a new version number and instructions to delete the old version if you managed to grab it before it was pulled prior to installing this one. Besides bug fixes, little has changed. Read more »
AT&T isn’t seeing its network subscribers jumping the fence for greener pastures in the wake of rivals Sprint and Verizon getting the Apple iPhone, an AT&T executive said in an interview with MarketWatch on Wednesday. Instead, it hasn’t seen subscriber loss rates change at all. Read more »
Few things impress people about the Apple TV in demonstration more than AirPlay mirroring, which is available on both the iPhone 4S and iPad 2. And that’s exactly why developers should focus on delivering unique and creative AirPlay solutions to help their apps stand out. Read more »
Apple officially launched iTunes Match on Monday. I managed to sign up, and take the service for a test ride using a small iTunes library to see how it would handle iTunes purchases, ripped tracks and anything else I could think to throw at it. Read more »
One in every two smartphones sold in the world is an Android device, according to Gartner, which said that Google’s mobile platform has doubled its share in the past year and surged to a 52.5 percent smartphone market share worldwide in the third quarter. Read more »
In an Australian federal court on Tuesday, an agreement between the court and Samsung means Apple will continue to be able to sell its iPhone 4S down under throughout the holiday season and into 2012 before facing the possibility of an injunction. Read more »
When it comes to the promise of data as the currency of the web, the current state of affairs has privacy advocates and many consumers up in arms. But it doesn’t have to be the one-sided affair it is today, in which companies have all the data and all the rights, and we shouldn’t have to be afraid of who’s doing what with our information. With laws, products, practices and education, data can become a far more valuable currency than cash ever was. Keeping that in mind, this research note examines five issues that must be addressed by policy makers and entrepreneurs so that they can deliver on our data-driven digital future. Companies mentioned in this report include Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
