http://metrics.admob.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/AdMob-Mobile-Metrics-Dec-09.pdf
For Virtualization,Cloud Computing,Mobile Knowledge share, If you want? Go get it!! http://www.upaper.net/flychoi
2010년 1월 25일 월요일
Apple responsible for 99.4% of mobile app sales in 2009 (Updated)
The latest report from market research firm Gartner suggests that mobile apps are big business, and that business should only grow in the next few years. According to Gartner's numbers and those reported by Apple, Apple completely owns this market, likely grabbing almost every one of the 4.2 billion dollars spent on mobile apps in 2009. Based on Gartner's estimates and our own analysis, Apple could hold on to at least two-thirds of the market if current sales trends hold for 2010.
Apple first opened the App Store in July 2008, along with the launch of the iPhone 3G and the release of iPhone OS 2.0. Sales were brisk, with 300 million apps sold by December. After the holidays, that number had jumped to 500 million. Earlier this month, Apple announced that sales had topped 3 billion; that means iPhone users downloaded 2.5 billion apps in 2009 alone. Gartner's figures show another 16 million apps that could come from other platform's recently opened app stores, giving Apple at least 99.4 percent of all mobile apps sold for the year.
"As smartphones grow in popularity and application stores become the focus for several players in the value chain, more consumers will experiment with application downloads," Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner, said in a statement. "Games remain the number one application, and mobile shopping, social networking, utilities and productivity tools continue to grow and attract increasing amounts of money."
Gartner's predictions for 2010 are 4.5 billion apps sold, for a total of $6.8 billion in revenue. If Apple can merely maintain its current rate of about a quarter billion app sales per month, and revenue share tracks with market share, it stands to be responsible for 3 billion apps sales—67 percent—good for about $4.5 billion in revenue. Apple's cut would be $1.35 billion, with developers taking the remainder. However, as Apple gains more users from sales of new iPhone models and possibly from an expected tablet, Apple could get an even larger share of the mobile app market.
Predictions for 2013, just a few years away, are even bigger—21.6 billion apps sold for a total of $29.5 billion revenue. The firm predicts that by then, 25 percent of the revenue generated by mobile apps will be from free versions supported with advertising. "Growth in smartphone sales will not necessarily mean that consumers will spend more money, but it will widen the addressable market for an offering that will be advertising-funded," Baghdassarian said. That makes Apple's acquisition of a mobile advertising firm seem like an even smarter move, just for the extra revenue alone.
The App Store model has become de rigueur on all the smartphone platforms, with RIM, Microsoft, Palm, and Google each building a similar way for developers to make apps available, and for users to find them and pay for them. Gartner warns that developers will have to carefully consider which platform's app store is best to promote their app. Even with the hundreds of thousands of options that vie for users in the iPhone App Store, the numbers suggest that Apple remains most developers' best bet.
UPDATE: A number of people have expressed concern that Gartner's figure only count apps sold, and not free apps. Gartner's press release indicated otherwise, and we verified with Baghdassarian that the figures include all apps, free or otherwise, distributed from every app store. According to Apple, it moved 2.5 billion apps, free or otherwise. We contend that the 99.4 percent figure is accurate.
To help visualize this figure, some readers requested an additional chart:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/apple-responsible-for-994-of-mobile-app-sales-in-2009.ars
iPhone 4G Rumors Visualized [PHOTO]
Last week, some enterprising fans created a visual guide to the Apple Tablet rumors. Today, the French website Nowhere Else has done something similar for the next generation iPhone. The image highlights the various rumors surrounding the next version of the iPhone (the iPhone 4G if you will) into one annotated graphic.An OLED display, 5-megapixel camera and a release date between May and July appear to be the most likely rumors (and we agree that those all sound like very distinct possibilities). Also ranking high are rumors of a front-facing camera, dual-core processor with more RAM and a touch-sensitive case.
As for the removable battery rumor, 60% likely or not, we don’t see that happening. Apple has moved its portable line to built-in batteries; it seems unlikely to us that they would add a removable battery to the iPhone.
You can check out a larger version of the image directly at Nowhere Else. What do you think of this roundup? What features would you like to see in the next iPhone? Let us know!
iPhone And Android Now Account For 81 Percent Of Smartphone Web Ads In the U.S.
nfeld on January 21, 2010
When it comes to the mobile Web, increasingly there are only two mobile platforms that matter: Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. According to market share data put out today by AdMob
Back in the first quarter of 2009, Android only had a 4 percent share of mobile ad impressions (which is also a decent proxy for overall mobile Web and app usage). It took a lot of share from Blackberry, which went from 20 percent to 10 percent over the past year, and Windows Mobile, which went from 12 percent to 3 percent. And Palm, which Android passed long ago, is barely a rounding error now, compared to its 7 percent share a year ago. During all of this time, not only has the combined market share of Android and iPhone been growing, but so has overall mobile Web traffic. In North America alone, mobile Web traffic has doubled in the past year.
Increasingly this looks like a two-horse race between iPhone and Android, and all the other mobile phones don’t matter. No wonder Google only cares about targeting mobile ads to those two platforms.
http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/21/iphone-android-admob-81-percent/
Myxer Report: Android Outpaces iPhone Users For Downloading Mobile Content
Mobile content delivery company Myxer
Myxer, which delivered ringtones and other content to 1,500 different devices in 2009, also delves into the break down by type of Android device, with HTC’s Dream/G1 commanding 35% of the unique users completing downloads on Android handsets in December. HTC’s myTouch, Motorola CLIQ, and Motorola Droid each used by 18%, 11%, and 7% (respectively) of total unique Android users on Myxer.
Myxer reports that the Blackberry Curve is the most frequented phone to visit Myxer’s mobile site to download content, with Windows Mobile and Palm devices decreasing in visits during 2009. Hip-Hop/R&B content dominates as a music genre; accounting for 77% of Android downloads and 47% of iPhone downloads.
The company seems to be doing fairly well in the mobile content space. Myxer just delivered 10 million ringtones to iPhone users (and 1 billion ringtones in all) and offers over 2 million free ringtones, wallpapers and videos. Users can also make their own ringtones, videos and wallpaper from music and files a customer already owns. And according to the company, its mobile site sees six million monthly unique visitors downloading over 85 million content items from Myxer each month. The startup also recently launched MobileStage, a suite of mobile marketing services aimed towards the music industry. Competitors include mSpot, Playphone and SendMe.
Google Extending Google Voice To Veterans. Why Not Throw In Some Android Phones Too?
Again, this is actually a very nice thing they’re doing, but it’s also an ingenious way to promote what Google clearly considers to be one of its killer products: Google Voice. This time, they’re giving out Google Voice accounts to U.S. veterans
As Google notes:
In today’s connected world, many of us don’t think twice about picking up the phone to place or receive a call. However, for a homeless individual, a phone number can be an important lifeline, connecting you with prospective employers, health care providers, family and friends.
Of course, giving away these phone numbers (which again, are free) doesn’t really mean much without an actual phone line or mobile device to attach it to. And Google doesn’t really explain how they’re going to serve these veterans who don’t have any access to a phone. But they do say that they will be helping them to set up the accounts, so presumably they’ll ask them if there is some other phone number of someone they know that they can attach the new Google Voice number to.
The grander gesture would be for Google to give out a bunch of Android phones along with the Google Voice accounts. They don’t have to be the next high-priced Nexus Ones, but I’m sure Google has plenty of G1s laying around, which as yesterday’s latest and greatest Android toy, Android fans are setting aside to jump to the new phones. That would be a nice little extension of bringing back the “don’t be evil” slogan.
Update: A Google spokesperson has reached out with the following additional information about the program:
I wanted to just clarify that Project CARE phone numbers are different from regular Google Voice accounts in that they don’t actually need to be linked to a working phone. When you setup the account, people can call your Project CARE number, just like a regular phone number, and you will be able to access those messages from any computer (e.g. at the library or a shelter).
That’s good, though I could see getting access to a computer still being a bit of a challenge for some. To be clear, Google also verified there is no VoIP element to this different version of Google Voice, so you can’t make outbound calls using this system — the Android phone would be good for that.
Truphone first to provide VoIP app for Nexus One
Voice app provider Truphone is releasing an updated app for Android which is compatible with Google’s Nexus One handset. That makes it the first VoIP client for that phone. In fact it turns out the Nexus One is going to be very important to Truphone’s overall strategy.The update for Android device (version 3.0.2) also makes Truphone compatible with the T-Mobile Pulse, taking it to five Android devices now. Truphone worked closely with Google on the app.
It’s the latest in a line of new moves by the UK-based company, which a year ago was not looking quite so happy. Revenues from VOIP calls are still a tough nut to crack and although Truphone has a great tech-focused team, until recently it lacked business and commercial savvy. The arrival of new – ex-Yahoo mobile- CEO Geraldine Wilson in late 2008 has stabilised the company and set it on firmer footing, although the jury is still out on whether VOIP apps really do end up getting anywhere in a market which likes “free”.
Crucial to Truphone’s strategy however is the gradual emergence – especially in the U.S. – of mobile phones not locked to a carrier. If you can swap out the SIM card you can capture a market. That’s why Google’s Nexus One could be the start of a hugely important era for VOIP startups like Truphone. And here’s further evidence why:
This week Truphone announced a strategic MVNO partnership with Vodafone UK. It will rebrand Vodafone UK’s network for the Truphone Local Anywhere customers of its SIM-based mobile service. It also launched a new iPhone app for global calling. Other regional MVNO deals are in the offing.
The service allows customers to make use of local rates in countries where Truphone has wholesale partnerships. They also have the option of having local mobile numbers for those countries all on a single SIM. For those countries where Truphone does not have operator agreements, Truphone Local Anywhere offers roaming rates that can be 40 percent cheaper than standard mobile operator charges and international call at up to 90 percent cheaper.
Truphone also has an app which works on the iPod Touch, effectively turning it into a phone.
UPDATE: As per some comments below, it is of course worth pointing out there are other VoIP apps for the Nexus One (e.g. SipAgent), but these are generally SIP clients which don’t have the full functionality of Truphone’s app not it’s SIM integration.
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2010/01/23/truphone-first-to-provide-voip-app-for-nexus-one/
Who Needs iTunes? doubleTwist Partners With T-Mobile, Now Bundled On Some Android Phones
For those that haven’t used it before, doubleTwist is a media management program that’s both visually and functionally similar to iTunes in many respects, but with one big difference: it will work with nearly any device (iTunes only plays nice with iPods and iPhones). You can drag and drop songs to playlists, sync music, photos, and video to your devices, and share your media with friends using integrated Facebook and Flickr support. In effect, doubleTwist can serve as an “iTunes for Android”. The software is impressive in its own right, but the company has also gotten quite a bit of attention because it was co-founded by DVD Jon
This is a smart move by T-Mobile. One of the most jarring experiences when moving to an Android phone is figuring out how to sync media to the device. First, you have to manually mount the SD drive from the phone’s screen. Once that’s done, you may find yourself half-expecting iTunes to cheerily pop up to help transfer your media, but nothing happens — it’s up to you to drag and drop media from your computer to the appropriate folder on the phone. There are plenty of applications out there meant to help you do this, but it’s a poor experience for users who are trying the platform out for the first time. doubleTwist makes this much easier for new Android owners (it even shows
One downside to the T-Mobile version of doubleTwist is that it’s missing one of the app’s best features: integration with Amazon’s MP3 Store. The feature, which launched in October, allows users to purchase music from directly within doubleTwist, much as you would with iTunes. doubleTwist wouldn’t comment on why T-Mobile decided to omit the feature, but the company is planning to further expand the software, so hopefully it’s in the pipeline. In any case, you can still download the fully featured version at doubleTwist.com
Money is changing hands in the deal. Co-founder Monique Farantzos declined to comment on any specifics, but says that doubleTwist licensed its software to T-Mobile and that it’s a “significant source of revenue”. We should also note that while it was previously known that doubleTwist would come preloaded on the Fender myTouch phone, the full extent of the partnership hadn’t been announced before now.
doubleTwist isn’t the only company looking to establish itself as a viable alternative to iTunes. Earlier this month Songbird
http://www.techcrunch.com/2010/01/24/doubletwist-android-itunes-tmobile/
U.S. Government in Your Pocket: White House Launches iPhone App
...Before the Mobile Website!
The White House App
This downloadable mobile application (iTunes link) is the first of its kind to be released by the current administration... that is, unless you count the Obama campaign's iPhone application, which offered mobilized access to campaign news, media and events prior to the election. The Obama administration is notable for the way it's embraced technology, using everything from YouTube for weekly "fireside chats" to wikis for recruiting purposes. They even licensed the transition site Change.gov using Creative Commons, which allowed a company called Cerado the ability to translate the site into a Web-based iPhone application.
What's most interesting about this new mobile effort is the fact that the iPhone application was launched prior to the mobile-ready version of WhiteHouse.gov's website. While that effort is "coming soon," says the blog post, it won't be available in time for Obama's next presidential address, and there are no details as to whether or not it will offer any sort of video features, much less live streaming.
Of course it's important that the government's efforts aren't iPhone-only, but it's clear that the Apple platform is an important part of the administration's efforts to reach its constituents - especially the young, tech-savvy mobile users who some say helped Obama win the election.
Mobile Web's Explosive Growth
Also of interest: The White House states that mobile Web use has grown over 100% in the last year in the U.S., and higher worldwide. That's putting it mildly. Over the past year, we've heard from numerous companies and analyst firms regarding the explosive growth of the mobile web. For example, in spring of 2009, Opera reported a 157% increase in usage of their Opera Mini web browser and a 319% increase in year-over-year data traffic. AdMob released a report in October revealing a 19% increase year-over-year in iPhone/iPod Touch data traffic alone, and last month, analyst firm IDC predicted over a billion mobile web users by 2010. Ignoring the mobile masses at this point would be a mistake and it's clear that the White House understands that. Notes the blog post: "this is just the first step for WhiteHouse.gov's mobile platform."
Proof of Concept Brings Flash to the iPhone
The Gordon project involves a JavaScript library which parses a SWF and renders SWF1 tags. "It's in the spirit of the previous 'SVG in SWF' work from Helen Triolo, Claus Wahlers, Brad Neuberg and others," writes Adobe's John Dowdell on his personal blog. Gordon renders "one file format in a runtime designed for a different file format," he says.
In layman's terms, this workaround lets Safari display Flash content...some Flash content...on the iPhone. But the process of enabling it to work requires quite a few modifications to the original Flash file. And while the concept is intriguing, anyone who actually bothered to use this on a live website would probably get criticized by users for killing the iPhone's user's battery - the script is a major CPU hog.
For obvious reasons, Adobe can't officially sanction the project as a way to sneak Flash onto the iPhone where it's currently prevented from running per Apple's restrictions. However, they said applaud the interest and enthusiasm shown by their developer community and that this demonstration "shows the potential of what users want to be able to experience on the iPhone." Still, they warn that the Gordon project "represents just a limited subset of what the Flash Player can do," mentioning specifically that without the necessary codec support, you would not be able to playback videos. For example, you would not be able to playback FLV videos encoded using the On2 VP6 codec. You also might not be able to play back F4V content either, unless the H.264 encoded video could somehow be extracted and then played back in QuickTime on the iPhone outside of the application or website.
Whether or not Apple plans to ever lets a proper version of Flash run on the iPhone is still unknown. At one time, we heard that Adobe was working on an iPhone-only version of Flash, but as of yet nothing has surfaced in that regard. Abode's current solution to the problem is a new release of their Flash Professional CS5 software which lets developers export their files as iPhone apps.
In the meantime, Flash developers interested in checking out the Gordon technology can view the demos hosted here or the source code here on github.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/proof_of_concept_brings_flash_to_iphone.php
Android Grew 350% in 2009
While iPhone is shown to have grown from 3% to 4%, Android has jumped from 5% to 12%. In the fourth quarter of 2009, Myxer delivered seven times as much content to Android phones than iPhones.
When the report looks a little deeper into its numbers, it not only finds that the number of Android phones visiting the site have grown, but the number of phones running Android have too. During the fourth quarter alone, the number of Android devices doubled.
We think we can see this as more solid evidence that Android is going to offer some solid competition in the field of mobile OS.
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/android_grew_350_in_2009.php