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Android and iOS drive mobile app explosion [infographic]
May 16th
One year ago, less than 40% of mobile subscribers in the United States had a smartphone. That number has increased dramatically, however; according to Nielsen, one in two mobile subscribers now owns a smartphone. Driven mostly by the rise of Android and iOS, which account for more than 80% of the U.S. smartphone market, 2012 has turned into the year of the app. The average number of apps installed on each smartphone has jumped 28% in 2012, an increase from 32 apps to 41. Smartphone owners are also spending increasingly more time using apps than using the mobile web, roughly 10% more than last year. Nielsen notes that the top five most active apps continue to be Facebook, YouTube, Android Market (now Google Play Store), Google Search and Gmail. Despite the increase of apps, smartphone owners spend roughly the same amount of time using them each day — 37 minutes in 2011, compared to 39 minute in 2012.
Dan Graziano
Global mobile phone sales now in decline
May 16th
Gartner Says Worldwide Sales of Mobile Phones Declined 2 Percent in First Quarter of 2012; Previous Year-over-Year Decline Occurred in Second Quarter of 2009
Samsung’s Android-Based Smartphone Sales in First Quarter of 2012 Represented More Than 40 Percent of Android-Based Smartphone Sales Globally; No Other Vendors Achieved More Than a 10 Percent Market Share
Egham, UK, May 16, 2012— Worldwide sales of mobile phones to end users reached 419.1 million units in the first quarter of 2012, a 2 per cent decline from the first quarter of 2011, according to Gartner, Inc. This is the first time since the second quarter of 2009 that the market exhibited a decline.
“Global sales of mobile devices declined more than expected due to a slowdown in demand from the Asia/Pacific region,” said Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The first quarter, traditionally the strongest quarter for Asia – which is driven by Chinese New Year, saw a lack of new product launches from leading manufacturers, and users delayed upgrades in the hope of better smartphone deals arriving later in the year.”
All vendors were impacted at different levels; however, white-box vendors seem to have suffered the most. While tier one players such as Nokia were negatively impacted on sell-in numbers (sold into retail), white-box vendors were unable to adjust production and were left with a build-up in inventory by the end of the quarter. Gartner expects some of this volume to be sold during the next couple of quarters, because the channel is likely to lower the prices to dispose of the stock.
“The lower results in the first quarter of 2012 have led us to be cautious about sales for the remainder of the year,” said Annette Zimmermann, principal research analyst at Gartner. “The continued
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/mobile-phone-sales-decline-gartner/
Google Music deauthorization limit poses a problem for rooters
May 16th
Similar to Apple’s iTunes program, Google Music only allows a certain number of devices to be connected to the service at one time. Google allows users to upload up to 20,000 song for free, which can then be accessed by up to 10 “authorized” devices. Once the limit is reached, a user can “deauthorize” a device to allow another a different phone or tablet to take its place. The problem, however, is that Google has limited device deauthorizations to just four per year. While Google’s limit may not affect the average Joe, rooters, ROMers, enthusiasts and even bloggers may run into some trouble. Custom ROM users in particular may run into trouble — Google Music often has difficulties handling custom ROMs and will occasionally de-register and re-register it as a completely new device. According to XDA-Developers, the change is relatively new, and was rolled out over the last 60 days. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dan Graziano
Android fragmentation gets visualized, again
May 16th
Android’s rise to the top of the mobile operating system food chain as measured by device proliferation has been remarkably swift, but not without its drawbacks. Due to the nature of Google’s open source OS and its aggressive strategy, smartphone vendors that make use of the platform have each gone their own way with software development, hardware design and other key elements. As a result, Android fragmentation, which might be defined as the spread of diverging versions of the Android OS across devices with varying core characteristics, was born.
Whether or not fragmentation is a problem in the Android ecosystem is a topic that is intensely debated by enthusiasts. Some claim the problem will eventually lead to Android’s downfall while others deny the issue even exists. Outside of these heated debates, a number of individuals and firms have tried to analyze the matter and look at fragmentation’s potential impact on the bigger picture.
In October last year, developer Michael DeGusta created a visualization of what he called Android’s fragmented update history. “Ever since the iPhone turned every smartphone into a blank slate, the value of a phone is largely derived from the software it can run and how well the phone can run it,” DeGusta wrote. “When you’re making a 2 year commitment to a device, it’d be nice to have some way to tell if the software was going to be remotely current in a year or, heck, even a month.”
Following DeGusta’s report, graphic designer Chris Sauve took data from a number of sources earlier this year in an attempt to measure fragmentation and in doing so, he determined that despite its unveiling in 2010, 2012 will be Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/android-fragmentation-visualized-opensignalmaps/
Facebook increases IPO size by 25%
May 16th
Just two days before its initial public offering, Facebook has increased the number of shares it will offer by 25%. The social networking giant will now offer 421 million shares to investors, 83.8 million shares more than it had originally planned to make available. Facebook is looking to price its stock between $34 and $38 per share, potentially allowing the company to raise more than $16 billion, making it the largest technology IPO and third-largest of all time behind Visa and GM. Fortune notes that the share increase will not affect Facebook’s valuation, however, as the extra shares are being reallocated out of the company’s existing share count. Facebook will be listed on the NASDAQ under ticker symbol FB.
Dan Graziano
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/facebook-ipo-increased-size-billion/
HTC EVO 4G LTE review
May 16th
Successfully launching an iconic smartphone is a daunting task, and following up a blockbuster flagship phone launch is even more difficult. Apple and Samsung might make it look easy, but companies like Motorola, Nokia and RIM have shown us that the success of one phone is anything but a guarantee that sequels will be met with the same fanfare. Perhaps no recent smartphone launch better embodies that notion than the HTC EVO 4G, a smartphone that gave Sprint a much-needed smash hit when it launched in 2010, and its successor the EVO 3D, which is now all but forgotten less than a year after its debut. Now, Sprint and HTC are back again with the HTC EVO 4G LTE, a smartphone that is more than worthy of its “flagship” designation. Impressive though it may be on paper, can Sprint score an EVO 4G-sized hit with this upcoming superphone or is it destined to meet the same fate as the EVO 3D? My full review follows below.
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/htc-evo-4g-lte-review-sprint-android/
Verizon to kill grandfathered unlimited data plans with 4G upgrades
May 16th
Verizon Wireless plans to eliminate its $30 per month unlimited data plan that it provides to customers who subscribed to the plan prior to the company’s transition to tiered data plans last July, Fierce Wireless reported on Wednesday. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said at the 40th J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Telecom conference that once unlimited 3G data plan customers upgrade to 4G LTE, they will have to purchase the company’s shared data plan. “Everyone will be on data share,” Shammo said. The carrier’s shared data plans are scheduled to launch in the coming months, and will allow users to share a single pool of data between multiple devices. “If I can add as many devices as I want, that is more efficient from a family perspective and a small business perspective,” the CFO said. When asked how Verizon will migrate customers off their unlimited data plans, Shammo said that LTE will draw customers away from it. “A lot of our 3G base is on unlimited,” he said. “When they migrate off 3G they will have to go to data share. That is beneficial to us.”
Dan Graziano
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/verizon-grandfathered-unlimited-data-plans-ending/
How much are you worth to Facebook?
May 16th
Facebook is just days away from one of the largest initial public offerings of all time. The social networking site is looking to raise more than $16 billion dollars at a valuation in the $100 billion price range. Facebook is worth a lot of money, and a company called Abine has created a program to determine just how much individuals are worth to Facebook. The program, called Facebook Val-You Calculator, determines a user’s worth with the help of seven questions regarding the number of friends they have, how often they “like” things, and even their salary range. Individuals are priced anywhere from $1 to more than $100, however according to research firm Forrester, Facebook made less than $4 per active user in 2011.
Dan Graziano
Article source: http://www.bgr.com/2012/05/16/facebook-val-you-calculator/
Sony and Panasonic in talks to make OLED TVs
May 16th
Sony and Panasonic are reportedly in talks to develop the technology needed to mass produce next-generation OLED televisions, according to Reuters. The two companies would be playing catch up to their South Korean rivals, Samsung and LG, both of which plan to market 55-inch OLED TVs later this year. “Overseas competitors have gotten a head start in this area and I feel like they’re stepping into this too late,” said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan. “There’s no question OLED TVs are going to be the mainstream. The issue is price and size of the displays.” OLED panel technology, which Sony pioneered in 2007, provides users with improved picture quality, deeper color saturation with high contrast, and allows vendors to make TVs as slim as 4 millimeters that consume less power than traditional LCD sets. There is a barrier, however: current OLED TVs are very expensive — Samsung’s upcoming 55-inch OLED TV will cost $9,000 when it launches in South Korea in the coming months.
Dan Graziano
Apple’s next iPhone will have a 4-inch display, WSJ says [updated]
May 16th
Apple’s sixth-generation iPhone handset will reportedly feature a larger display that measures “at least 4 inches diagonally.” Mirroring numerous earlier reports, The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday cited multiple anonymous sources in claiming that Apple’s next iPhone will include a new larger display. The Journal adds that panel orders have been placed, however, and that Apple has tasked LG Display, Sharp and Japan Display with supplying the new screens. A recent report claimed the next-generation iPhone would utilize the same 3.5-inch screen found on Apple’s iPhone 4S and iPhone 4, however multiple earlier reports suggested that the new iPhone will finally receive a larger 4-inch Retina display and 4G LTE compatibility. BGR exclusively reported in December that Apple will launch a completely redesigned iPhone this fall that will include a redesigned antenna system, likely alongside a new aluminum case and 4-inch display.
UPDATE: Reuters independently confirmed The Journal’s claims with its own sources in a report Wednesday morning.
Zach Epstein
