Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Quantcast has shown that Android is climbing up stealthilty, now taking up a 25 percent share of total mobile Web consumption in the United States. Apple’s iOS, however, is seeing its share decline, from approximately 67 percent in May 2009 to 56 percent in August 2010.
If this trend were to continue, Android’s share should be equal to that of iOS in an approximate twelve months, at least according to Quantcast. Both are still growing rapidly in absolute numbers, but what’s interesting is seeing the relative shares shifting. BlackBerry’s Research In Motion (RIM) has a share that is roughly 10 percent, showing no signs of growth whatsoever. It is clear that the battle for dominance over the mobile Web is being fought by two companies, Google and Apple, at this point.
In another graph below, Quantcast reports that Android took share from every corner of the market last month. It is Android’s best month share gain since November 2009, when it surpassed the 10 percent share mark.
Sources:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/03/quantcast-mobile-web-browsing/
http://www.androidcentral.com/android-mobile-web-usage-climbing-while-others-fall
http://androidspin.com/2010/09/06/android-on-its-way-to-the-top/
Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
In the latest statistics report by AndroLib, the Apple App Store has about 250,000 apps, and nearly 70% are paid apps while 30% are free. The Android Market has about 100,000 apps, and contrastingly, it has 35% paid apps and 65% free apps.
148apps.biz reports that there are about 630 new apps in the App Store daily, compared to about 590 per day last month on Android. Also, since Android is an open-source system, a lot of developers may come from an open-source background and are used to giving away their work. Another thought is that the Android Market only supports purchases in 13 markets while the App Store does so in 90.
It is interesting to note that the more popular an app is in the Market, the more likely it is to be free. For example, of the 838 apps that have been downloaded more than 250,000 times, only one of them is a paid app.
Sources:
http://www.androlib.com/appstats.aspx
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/09/app-store-vs-android-market-how-much-is-paid-for.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Samsung is giving Android priority over Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 or even its very own Bada OS. The surge in Android’s popularity, the huge app eco-system surrounding it, and the cheap price are big factors that weigh in on this decision.
It costs money to license Windows Phone 7 and it is one of the most limited modern OS’s to come to market recently. In terms of apps, it is also way behind Android, less to say the iPhone. While Bada OS doesn’t cost money to license, it still costs Samsung money to develop. It also faces the same adoption problem Windows Phone 7 will face.
Source:
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Huawei Technologies has announced a new low cost Android smartphone running on Android OS 2.2. The Huawei Ideos is the first mass-market phone to ship running the latest version of Android.
The announcement at IFA was surprising because everyone expected Huawei to produce a high-end phone that they had developed with Google. There’s nothing high about the Ideos though. It has a low-resolution (240 x 320), small (2.8 inch) capacitive (whew!) screen. It has a smaller (3.2 megapixel) camera image, a slower (528 MHz) processor, not that much (256 MB) memory, 512 MB of ROM, limited (7.1 Mbps) HPSA capability. It has Wifi 802.11n, Bluetooth, GPS and room for external storage with its microSD card slot.
Pricing and availability will be announced in the near future.
Sources:
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/09/huawei-introduces-low-cost-froyo-android-smartphone.html
http://androidspin.com/2010/09/02/huawei-unveils-android-devices-that-are-easy-on-the-wallet/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
According to Bloomberg, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, the mobile-phone venture of Sony Corp. and Ericsson AB, claimed it aims to be the world’s biggest supplier of Android smartphones.
Chief Executive Officer Bert Nordberg said at a briefing in Beijing yesterday, that the London-based company currently has a 17 percent share of the Android-powered phone market, compared to 23 percent for the largest supplier. Also, Nordberg didn’t give a timeframe for achieving the top spot. We have a whole lot to expect from Sony Ericsson from now on.
Sources:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/09/01/sony-ericsson-ceo-gunning-1-android-phone-supplier-world/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Motorola has unveiled their latest Android device, the Motorola Defy. The Defy added to the masses of other Motorola Android phones along with the Motorola i1 in Motorola’s effort to produce the most Android phones on the planet.
The Defy’s handset body is impact, dust, water, and scratch resistant and certified to IP67 standards. The exterior shell and Gorilla Glass perform in great standards with keeping the 800 MHz OMAP 3610 processor, 1540 mAh battery, 1.25GB of onboard memory, and a 5MP camera with LED flash safe from harm. The display on the Motorola Defy will measure in at 3.7 inches, offering up a 480 x 854 pixel resolution.
It runs on 1.5 BLUR and operates on Android’s 2.1 Eclair. Motorola plans to launch the Defy in Europe in Q4 2010.
Sources:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/09/01/motorola-announces-defy-european-market/
http://www.androidcentral.com/motorola-defy-hit-europe-water-damage-resistance\
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/09/new-motorola-defy-android-2-1-smartphone-here-q4.html\
http://androidspin.com/2010/09/01/take-the-motorola-defy-just-about-anywhere/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
The LG E720 appeared on a Polish site over the weekend. It is a Froyo-equipped device featuring a 3.2 inch display, along with Qualcomm’s mid-range MSM7227 core and a 5 megapixel camera around back. Pricing and availability are likely to be announced soon.
Sources:
http://androidspin.com/2010/08/30/the-android-powered-lg-e720-surfaces/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/lg-e720-with-android-leaks-its-no-galaxy-s-killer/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Samsung Mobile has announced today that it has shipped more than 1 million of the Android 2.1-powered Galaxy S phones in the United States. The line’s popularity has increased drastically, with the AT&T and T-Mobile versions already in stores. The Sprint Epic 4G launches on Tuesday, followed by the Verizon and US Cellular versions, so we might see a couple more million of these devices being shipped soon.
Source:
http://www.androidcentral.com/samsung-mobile-ships-one-million-galaxy-s-devices-us
Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
Gigabyte Technology, a motherboard maker company from Taiwan, has been manufacturing its own brand, GSmart, on Windows Mobile operating devices. However, it was reported that they lost an estimated 9.3-12.5 million dollars in the handset business.
Gigabyte Communications, the subsidiary, has announced that they have changed from making GSmart branded Windows Mobile phones to ODM with Android as an additional operating system.
Though the U.S. may not be the place that we will see Gigabyte, we look forward to seeing what new products they might develop.
Sources:
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
The Dell Aero is now available for sale at AT&T. Here are the specifications:
The only drawback for this device is that it is still running on Android 1.5 Cupcake.
Source:
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/08/dell-aero-android-smartphone-is-now-available.html
