Android

Apple widens U.S. lead over Samsung, makes ground on Google

Christian Zibreg ∙ April 4, 2013

OMG, Apple is screwed! In another data point proving Apple doomsayers need to re-run their spreadsheets, research firm comScore reported Thursday its latest survey of the United States market for smartphones has found Apple's iPhone widening its lead over second-ranked Samsung, which has gone up one percentage point to grab a 21.3 percent share of US-owned smartphones during the three month average period ending February 2013.

During the same timeframe, Apple's slice of the pie has gone up from 35.9 percent in November 2012 to 38.9 percent of U.S. smartphone subscribers in February 2013, an increase of 3.9 percentage points. The good news doesn't stop here: Apple's iOS has increased 3.9 percentage points to 38.9 percent, matching Apple's aforementioned smartphone share.

Google's Android platform, available on numerous devices from dozens of manufacturers, still ranked as the top smartphone platform with a healthy 51.7 percent market share in February 2013, but it has dropped two percentage points from the November 20121 53.7 percent share...

Flurry: one-third of app time spent on games

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

The average U.S. smartphone or tablet user spends two hours and 38 minutes on their device, the majority inside an app.

Just over half an hour is spent inside a mobile browser, while more than two hours each day is spent inside apps, such as Facebook.

According to the mobile analytics firm Flurry, games top the list of most-used apps, while Facebook is threatening to overtake Safari, Apple's dominant web browser, Opera Software's Opera Mini and other popular mobile web browsers as the most-popular way to access social and other content on the web...

Google: missing iTunes Store search links only technical mistake

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 11, 2018

If you're one of those conspiracy theorists, there's a bit of a tempest in a teapot happening over Google's search results. On the surface, it appears web links to iOS apps hosted on iTunes are being buried under related but not Apple-endorsed web sites. Meanwhile, some iOS apps from Google prominently appear at the top of search results. Is Google, which promotes its Android mobile operating system as an alternative to Apple's iOS, using its mammoth search database as a competitive weapon?

Or are Apple fans seeing phantoms? The Mountain View, California-headquartered Internet giant blames it all on a technical problem...

Safari continues to dominate the mobile browser space

Cody Lee ∙ April 3, 2013

Despite the fact that it has numerous challengers, Apple's Safari has dominated the mobile browser space. And that continues to be the case today, according to a new report from web analytics firm Net Applications.

The firm's data, which stems from its web network that sees more than 160 million visits to more than 40,000 websites each month, shows that last month, Safari accounted for 61.79% of the mobile browser traffic...

Flurry finds phablets are ‘insignificant’ and a ‘fad’

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated February 24, 2018

There has been debate whether Apple should offer an iPhone with a larger screen, competing with Android selling what some have dubbed 'phablets' for spanning both phones and tablets. Now comes a well-known mobile research firm calling phablets just 'a fad.'

In a note to mobile developers entitled "Size Matters for Connected Devices, Phablets Don't," analytics firm Flurry Monday said phablets comprise only a single-digit portion of devices compared to mid-size phones and large tablets, such as the iPhone and iPad...

Handset cost: a common reason why people go Android

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 14, 2018

Evidence supporting a call for Apple to produce a budget-minded smartphone keeps mounting. The latest evidence: Android's market share lead over iOS in the US is widening, according to research concluded in February. What once was a 2-point domestic lead for Google's mobile software in 2012 has stretched to 8 points.

Android now has just over half of the US smartphone market with 51.2 percent of sales, according to a survey by Kantar Worldpanel. That is a gain from 47 percent during the same period a year ago. Apple's iOS is in second place in the U.S. with 43.5 percent of smartphone sales, a 3.5 percent slip from 2012, according to Kantar...

Facebook reportedly preparing to launch a smartphone

Cody Lee ∙ March 28, 2013

Just a little bit ago, Facebook sent out press invitations for a media event next week. The keynote will take place at 10:00am PST on Thursday, April 4, at the company's headquarters on 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park. What is it going to be talking about? Maybe its new smartphone.

Yes, I know. We've heard this rumor enough now that it's almost meaningless. But it sounds like it's for real this time. A new report says the handset, which is being built by HTC, has a 4.3-inch display, an iPhone-like Home button and is running a forked version of Android...

Google tops Apple as leading App Store publisher

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 28, 2013

Obviously, home field advantage doesn't hold sway when it comes to app stores. That's the message from a new report showing Google the leading publisher on Apple's App Store while Facebook downloads outnumbered Google on the Mountain View, California company's own marketplace.

Although Apple led apps downloaded from its App Store in December, iOS video and mapping apps from Android's Google topped its smartphone rival during January and February. Meanwhile, a Facebook app grabbed the top spot on Google Play, reinforcing the importance of social networking downloads in generating app store revenue...

Apple defends Siri in Shanghai courtroom

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku0H10_G1X4

China may soon become a top source of legal headaches, as well as market opportunities. Wednesday, the iPhone maker begins a defense of its Siri software against a Chinese company's claim the voice-activated personal assistant violates its 2004 patent. Zhizhen Network Technology Co. filed its lawsuit against Apple last summer and today the two firms meet for a pre-trial hearing in a Shanghai court.

According to Zhizhen, its "Xiao i Robot" software was patented before Apple developed Siri in 2007 and unveiled as part of the iPhone 4S in 2011. The Shanghai-based firm is asking the court to halt Apple making and selling products using Siri, a voice-activated personal assistant feature available on newer iPhones and iPads...

iPhone and Galaxy owners are not that different

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 22, 2013

While iPhone and Galaxy S3 owners are often viewed as fans of rival teams, the two groups have more in common than Apple or Samsung would care to admit.

A new report finds owners of the two smartphones follow the same usage patterns, while maintaining some distance on hardware and carrier choices.

Based on surveys conducted in January and February, both iPhone and G3 owners follow a trend away from voice calls and emails to texting. Before anyone thinks the two will for a mutual admiration society anytime soon, there are some striking differences, as well...

Survey: better the screen, bigger the paycheck for in-app game sales

Ed Sutherland ∙ March 21, 2013

We ran across an interesting yardstick when measuring how much mobile consumers will spend on in-app purchases: screen quality. No, we're not talking about whether your phone's screen is too covered with smudges and grime to see the "buy" button. Turns out, in-app purchases could be ten times as much, depending on the device screen.

Per one app firm, the connection between screen quality and in-app revenue is most evident with Android handsets, but is totally absent with iPad users...

Walmart expands iPhone scan-and-checkout option to 200+ more stores

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated June 13, 2016

It is an idea that was just waiting to be implemented: using your iPhone to scan product barcodes at retailers. Apparently, the world's largest chain of retail stores agrees. Walmart announced Wednesday it will offer the feature across more than 200 stores in twelve additional U.S. markets, stretching from Seattle to Oklahoma.

Although the move triples the size of the retail chain's Scan & Go program, Walmart said it still wants to get customer feedback before rolling out iPhone-based price checks in all stores...