Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
According to Apple’s UK website, the iOS 4.1 Update will be released on Wednesday, September 8th. The iPhone 4 was recently released with iOS 4.0 and it wasn’t surprising that the updated OS is released so soon. Details and changes about the update is still unknown.
Source:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/09/04/ios-4-1-confirmed-for-september-8th-on-apples-uk-website/
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!
As some predicted, the BlackBerry Torch doesn’t seem to be selling as well. The WSJ cites analysts at RBC Capital Markets and Stifel Nicolaus estimate that RIM sold about 150,000 of the device over the weekend. In comparison, the iPhone 4 sold about 1.7 million devices in its opening weekend.
Well, one can say that BlackBerry devices are often sold to business customers, who are not often the first in line to buy a new device. However, there are some similarities. Like the iPhone 4, the Torch, with its updated OS, has a large screen and a slide-out keyboard, making it a perfect competitor to Apple’s smartphone.
It is still too early to call the Torch a failure or a success. With RIM expanding the launch to other countries and carriers, we might have a clearer picture in the near future.
Source:
http://mashable.com/2010/08/17/blackberry-torch-sales-report/
Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
Ebay’s PayPal is looking to add payment service to Google’s Android smartphone software. This makes things more convenient for users to pay for applications through their phones.
Users of Android phones like Motorola’s Droid X and HTC’s Droid Incredible may be able to pay for apps with PayPal as soon as this year. The customers currently pay for their apps via credit card or Google Checkout.
With the addition of PayPal, Google would give app developers another way to get paid, potentially making them more likely to create software for Android. Although Android phones are beginning to outsell the iPhone, Apple still dominates in the sale of apps. There are more than 225,000 apps available for Apple devices, compared with about 70,000 for Android.
Apple iTunes users buy apps with one touch because their payment information is already stored inside. Google offers similar features through its Checkout service, though it isn’t as popular as iTunes or PayPal, creating hassles for new users. By adopting PayPal, which has 87 million active accounts, Google may attract more paying customers.
Sources:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/08/15/report-paypal-payments-coming-android-market/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
There has been questions about when will the Windows Phone 7 OS be launched, and whether this Microsoft’s mobile OS will be successful in relaunching their image in the smartphone’s industry so that they are able to compete with Research in Motion, Apple and Google.
Until now, the launch window has always been stated as during the third quarter of 2010, but there is no precise date given yet. But according to Kevin Turner, Microsoft’s COO, the commercialization phase of Windows Phone 7 OS should begin in October for Europe and November in the United States.
The timing remains coherent with a launch that has to make a big impression during the end of year festive season, a time at which the purchasing of electronic devices is at its highest. This launch should coincide with announcements of compatible handsets by numerous Smartphone manufacturers including HTC, LG Electronics and Samsung.
Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO, confirmed during a press conference last week that he had no back up plan in the event that Windows Phone 7 is a flop. The failure of the Kin handsets in the first half of the year has certainly not increased confidence in the group’s mobile projects.
Source:
http://us.generation-nt.com/windows-phone-launch-smartphone-microsoft-news-2382311.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
The NPD Group, one of the largest market research companies in the United States, has reported that Android smartphones has outsold the BlackBerry in sales for Q2 2010. Android accounted for 33 percent of all smartphones purchased in Q2, ahead of RIM (28 percent) and Apple (22 percent).
The top 5 Android phones sold in the second quarter in the US were:
It’s not surprising that the Motorola Droid is at the top of that list. Especially with all those publicity and Droid commercials being pumped out every few weeks.
Let’s see if RIM’s new marketing campaign and the launch of BlackBerry 6 will help them with sales in Q3.
Sources:
http://www.androidcentral.com/npd-android-takes-lead-over-blackberry-q2-fanboys-rejoice-everywhere
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
According to The Nielson Company’s report, Android phones accounted for 27 percent of U.S. smartphones sold in Q2 2010, while Apple’s iPhone handsets followed at 23 percent. Google’s mobile OS has shown that it is taking off faster than ever. At approximately two years in, handsets are moving briskly and competition is heating up. Android is doing very well for itself, that it has overtaken the iOS phones in terms of market share in the United States.
Source:
http://www.androidguys.com/2010/08/02/nielson-android-outsells-iphone-handsets-q2/
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Canalys, a high-tech market trends research consultancy, has released a press release indicating an impressive growth for Android smart phones in markets around the world. Smartphone shipment data for Q2 2010 has shown a remarkable growth of Android device shipments across a range of handset vendors such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG and others. Shipments of smartphones running Android OS has grown an impressive 886% in Q2 2010.
The United States itself, being the largest smartphone market in the world, had a 41% market growth from last year with 14.7 million units accounting for 23% of global shipments in Q2 2010. Android devices collectively represented a 34% share of the US market in the quarter, and with growth of 851% Android became the largest smartphone OS in the country.
Although Android has shown progress, Nokia has retained a substantial lead in the worldwide smartphone market in Q2 2010, achieving a 38% market share. The vendor shipped a record 23.8 million smart phones during the quarter, representing growth of 41% on a year ago.
Despite Nokia leading the pack, other vendors are closing the gap. Shipments of RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones was placed second once again with an 18% market share and 41% growth. RIM also retained its leadership position in North and Latin America. Initial shipments of the iPhone 4 were predictably strong and contributed to Apple’s 61% growth and worldwide market share of 13% for the quarter.
The presence of Android smartphones are also growing in China and South Korea. China was the world’s second largest smartphone market in Q2 2010 for the sixth consecutive quarter, with shipments of 6.9 million units representing 11% of the worldwide total. The Android devices combined reached almost 475,000 units in Q2 2010 from no units just a year ago.
Though Nokia devices continue to dominate China’s market, Canalys expects Android to be among the platforms that will drive growth in the coming quarters. Android devices held a 7% share in China this quarter. Also, HTC, the world’s leading Android device vendor, announced last week that it is entering the Chinese market with its own-branded smartphones.
Sources:
Weekend Mobile Industry Snippets!
According to a recent comScore reporton the US subscriber market share, BlackBerry’s RIM and Apple have both lost a small amount of market share while Android is bridging this gap between them.
The market share of RIM is 41.7%, Apple 24.4%, Microsoft 13.2% and Google 13%. These are typical numbers, but Google has increased their market share by 4%, suggesting a shift in the market pie. The previous comScore report also shows a 5.2% Google growth.
Microsoft has lost out the most, with a decrease of 1.9% in market share between February and May, though there might be changes when Windows 7 phones start shipping.
With the rapid growth that Google’s Android has recently shown, we will be anticipating changes in the numbers again in 2011.
Source:
http://androidheadlines.com/2010/07/android-bridging-gap-on-rim-and-apple-market-share.html
Daily Mobile Industry Snippets!
Apple has announced that the iOS 4.1 beta 2 is now available for developers. It’s just been two weeks since the iOS beta 1 hit the scene. There isn’t a chance to see any major differences though.
Sources:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/27/apple-ios-4-1-beta-2-now-available-for-developers/
http://gizmodo.com/5598018/ios-41-beta-2-now-available-to-iphone-developers
http://www.cultofmac.com/apple-releases-new-ios-4-1-beta-2-to-devs/52709
