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Apple says 74 percent of App Store users are running iOS 7
Two can play the OS statistics game, it seems. Just a couple of days after Google noted that 1.1 percent of Android devices visiting Google Play are running KitKat, Apple has revealed that 74 percent of recent App Store customers are using iOS 7. That's a healthy 10-point improvement over what we saw in October, when 64 percent were running Cupertino's newest platform. The differences in OS adoption rates aren't totally surprising, mind you. Apple is targeting a narrower pool of hardware, doesn't have to wait for third-party approvals and recently launched two new iPads that could easily boost iOS 7 adoption. Android by its nature targets a wider range of devices and software interfaces that won't always receive updates at the same time. We wouldn't expect a big spike in KitKat use until larger phone makers like HTC and Samsung throw their full weight behind Google's latest platform.
Facebook's Like button drops the thumbs up for a new, bluer look
Facebook's iconic "Like" button is changing today, and the thumbs up symbol we've long associated with it is no more. The company's Share button is also changing, though we're gonna guess you're not quite as interested. Both buttons are seen -- daily -- around 22 billion times, so you have to imagine changing the design is a bit more suspenseful than the relatively rote change it seems to be. It also has a pretty serious impact on the virality of web content and the way that businesses promote their products -- Facebook's Ray C. He says on Facebook's dev blog that, "We're already seeing a favorable increase in Likes and Shares with the new design and will be rolling these buttons out to everyone in the coming weeks." Hilariously, Facebook's own post still has the original 2010 Like button design embedded. Should you wish to pour one out for the little digital hand that got your virtual social life off the ground, might we suggest marathoning Happy Days episodes?
Sony confirms PS4 gesture and voice control, HDMI capture for games (update)
Looking for more PlayStation 4 news? Here's a bit now that Sony's Tokyo Game Show keynote address is over. A couple of features we'd hoped to hear more about have been confirmed, and the first is that the PS4 camera will support both voice and gesture control. It's no surprise that the system will take full advantage of the add-on's dual cameras and four mics for people who want to wave at their TVs, but it's nice to have that confirmed. Second, in a move that will mostly benefit game reviewers and YouTube video walkthrough experts (thanks for your help on these GTA V missions, all of you), the PlayStation 4 will allow unencrypted HDMI output for games. On the PS3 it didn't, treating games the same as Blu-ray movies, so anyone capturing video in HD needed to use component cables. That's on top of the console's "Share" button that sends clips of gameplay straight to Ustream, Facebook or PSN. Check out our liveblog for everything else discussed tonight including the PS4's mobile apps, indie gaming and Vita TV. Update: Sony Worldwide Studios head Shuhei Yoshida tells us via Twitter that HDMI capture on PS4 won't be available at the console's launch this November, but "in the future."
Hulu will disable automatic Facebook sharing
The still-under-previous-ownership Hulu is disabling the Open Graph-powered option to automatically share the videos you watch with your friends on Facebook. According to the video streaming site, the change came because "feedback indicated that people prefer the experience of expressly sharing content." So, if you really want people to know you're watching the latest Switched at Birth, you can just punch the button at the bottom of the page. If you've switched social features on for services like Hulu or Netflix: do you welcome the added control, or are you among those looking forward to a feed with less spam from oversharing friends?
Google+ update pulls +1'd posts into your friend's streams
Google has finally added a feature to its social network that makes its +1 feature work more like That Other Social Network's "like" button. As shown above and detailed in a post by team member Shimrit Ben-Yair, starting today it will "occasionally highlight" posts that were +1'd by people you've included in your circles, and show posts you've +1'd to people who have you in their circles. Until now, you had to go to someone's profile to see what posts they'd marked +1, but this change makes it both more familiar (alongside the existing Share button and trending topics) and potentially more annoying. The same circle-based privacy settings that already existed manage who sees your +1s, and you can turn down the volumes on anyone bringing too many items into your stream. The new feature is rolling out over the next few days, let us know if you think it's a change for the better.
E-books not growing much in Canada, slightly better in the US
A new study from BookNet Canada notes that the e-book market may be in trouble. Paperback books, says BookNet, made up 58 percent of all purchases last year, with hardcover taking 24 percent. But e-books were only 15 percent of total sales last year, a figure that's down overall from 2012's first quarter, where they made up 17.6 percent. In other words, e-books are selling, but they're hardly taking over the market. Now, those numbers reflect sales in Canada. In the US, e-books make up 22 percent of the market, so the numbers are higher here. But still, given how ubiquitous e-books now are, it's surprising to not see them taking more of the market. BookNet says buyers cite the convenience of shopping for other items at the same time and pricing as two reasons they're still looking for books in brick-and-mortar stores rather than online. Finally, Apple's iPad only made its way up to number three on the list of the most popular e-book readers in Canada. The Kobo e-book reader was the most popular up in the Great White North, followed by Amazon's Kindle and then Apple's tablet.
Facebook's native Share Dialog for iOS exits beta, now ready for developers
Now that Facebook's share feature has settled into its own mobile apps, the firm has pushed its native Share Dialog for iOS out of beta, which allows developers to bake the function into their own applications. With just an extra line of code, apps will allow users to share things, tag friends and note their location without having to log into the social network or connect the app to their account first, removing some hassle from the equation. In addition, the built-in sharing options in iOS 6 can be bolstered with Open Graph actions. Click the source link below to snatch Zuckerberg and Co.'s latest SDK for Apple's mobile OS, or hit the second link for the docs.
Windows Phone steals third place from BlackBerry in IDC smartphone ranking
First and second place in the smartphone OS wars is a foregone conclusion with Android and iOS (respectively) strongly entrenched, but the battle for third place is now full of intrigue. BlackBerry and Microsoft have each stepped up their games with their respective BB10 and WP8 OS's of late, but so far it's Redmond prevailing, having jumped two spots from last quarter to take third place, with a 3.2 percent share over BlackBerry's 2.9 percent. While those two are fighting for third place scraps, Android kicked up its smartphone OS dominance with 75 percent of the global market, which is a huge jump from last year, while iOS fell back slightly to a 17.3 percent share. Between them, those titans owned 92.3 percent of the pie, but it's arguably Windows Phone that has raised its game the most, with a senior IDC analyst claiming that this latest ranking "validates the direction taken by Microsoft and key partner Nokia."
Yoshida: PS4 share function can be disabled by developers
Sony worldwide studios president Shuhei Yoshida recently elaborated on the use and origin of the Dual Shock 4 controller's share button, one of the noteworthy features coming to the PlayStation 4. Namely, Yoshida noted in an interview with Japanese site 4Gamer (translated by Edge) that the share button will be limited to whatever use developers will allow. "There will be parts of a game that the maker does not want people to be able to see," Yoshida said. "For example, on Vita, developers can in certain scenes disable the feature that lets users take a screenshot, and [the Share function] will have a similar mechanism. The creator may not want to make video of the final boss sharable, for instance." Yoshida said his desire to see an accessible video sharing function come to life on the PS4 stemmed from his desire to play Dark Souls "all day long," which resulted in him watching videos of others playing the game since he was too busy.
Bump removes ability to share iTunes tracks in latest update
We see tons of app updates come through the App Store every single day, but it's very rare that one of those updates removes functionality rather than adds it. The latest update for Bump for iPhone does exactly that, unfortunately. Bump is an app that came out very early in the App Store's life, and its core feature was that you could "bump" with another iPhone user to share contacts. Over the years, Bump has added more and more sharing features, to the point where it can now share files, work with Dropbox and even connect up with a Mac directly. Last year, the company added the ability to "share" music from phone to phone, basically by sharing the song's information, and then by looking that song up on the target phone across YouTube and iTunes. But that feature no longer works, as per the app's latest update. It could be that Apple didn't like music being "shared" across phones without their standard cut being paid, or it could be that Bump just didn't think the code was working as well as it should. At any rate, you can't share music in Bump any longer. The good news is that if you have a version of Bump that will share music, you can simply keep that version by not upgrading to the new one, and you can also keep the functionality. You can even drag the app out of your iTunes library (if you've installed it from an iTunes client), and save it elsewhere, in case you ever accidentally upgrade. True, this one feature may not justify having to remember not to upgrade the app every time (and you'll miss out on any future Bump features), but if it's something you depend on, there are ways to keep it active.
Facebook users can now share via Android and iOS apps
Yesterday, Facebook revealed that it was in the process of bringing its website's share feature to mobile apps for iOS and Android. Well, Zuckerberg's crew just made good on its promise, and has released version 5.2 of its app for both platforms. That means that folks using either app can now pass on their witty musings and puppy pictures to all of their online friends with a simple tap in their news feeds. Want in on the action? There are downloads to be had at the source links below.
ComScore: Android tops 52 percent of US smartphone share, iPhone cracks the 33 percent mark
Both Apple and Google have reasons to break out the champagne in the wake of ComScore's latest market share figures. Android is still sitting prettier than ever and just reached a new high of 52.2 percent for US smartphone share as of this past July, no doubt in part through at least a few Galaxy S III sales. Not that Apple is worrying about its US stake just yet, as the iPhone just passed the one-third mark to hit 33.4 percent -- it gained share faster than Android in the space of the preceding three months. We don't have much good news elsewhere, though, as the BlackBerry lost its hold on two-digit market share at the same time as Windows and Symbian continued to cede ground. As for the overall cellphone space? The familiar pecking order of Samsung, LG, Apple, Motorola and HTC remains intact, although only Apple and HTC gained any traction with their respective 16.3 percent and 6.4 percent slices of the pie. LG has dropped quickly enough that it's now within Apple's crosshairs at 18.4 percent. As significant as the shifts can be, we're most interested in what happens two months down the line, when ComScore can report September share: a certain phone's launch is likely to skew the numbers, regardless of what HTC and Motorola bring to the table. Just be advised that US market share isn't everything.
IDC: iPhone wait cuts Apple's China phone share by nearly half, Lenovo seizes the opportunity
There's a lot of talk of a new iPhone coming soon, and the Chinese know it. IDC researchers estimate that Apple's share of smartphones in the country was sliced almost in half during the second quarter, to 10 percent, as expectations and rumors led the local population to wait for the big update. Better competition also played a part in denting iPhone shipments, although it's not Apple's chief rival Samsung who's responsible. Rather, it's China's own Lenovo that had the most impact. It broke into the double digits with a second-place 11 percent share thanks to recently started indirect sales of its Android-dominated lineup, while Samsung saw its own share dip slightly to 19 percent. Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei bracketed Apple at third and fifth. We wouldn't be surprised if the balance of power shifts in about a month, but the impacts to Apple and Samsung alike show just how tough it can be to stay on top in one of the fastest-growing markets on Earth -- especially one with so many local brands.
IHS iSuppli: Apple iPad takes 69.6 percent of tablet brand market share in Q2, reader tablets take a bruising
An earlier portrait of the second quarter's tablet market share made it quite clear that the iPad was on a rebound, if it was ever in a slump to start with. All those numbers focused on platforms and not brands, however -- we didn't know how the individual makers were doing. If IHS iSuppli's figures are on the ball, there's even more of a discrepancy if you break down the period's results by manufacturer. The iPad staked out 69.6 percent of tablet shipments in the spring. That wasn't just an 11-point jump over a year earlier; it was a level of share Apple hasn't had since the Motorola Xoom was just cutting its teeth early in 2011. As for the rest? Transformer Pads kept ASUS growing, but it's not a pretty sight if you're making an Android reader tablet; both Amazon and Barnes & Noble shed roughly a point and a half each, which is no small amount relative to their size. Samsung also lost share by this after its deliveries of Galaxy Tabs mostly stayed flat. We'd add that there's some wiggle room as to real performance knowing that units shipped and sold aren't always one and the same. Most of these companies are leaving clues regarding upcoming tablet refreshes that might level the playing field, some not so subtle, but it's currently Apple's game to win.
Strategy Analytics: Android lost US market share in Q2, isn't losing sleep just yet
Android is most definitely on the upward march when it comes to the world stage. But you might be surprised at how it's faring in the US: it's down, according to Strategy Analytics' estimates. As of the second quarter, Google's market share dropped from 60.6 percent a year earlier to 56.3 percent. No one would call it a moment of crisis for Android, but it implies that Apple was drawing in more of the customers jumping ship from other platforms -- the iPhone climbed to 33.2 percent while RIM and others lost ground. The real tests of where the market is going, we imagine, will come in the second half of the year. Apple will have to survive an American summer full of Galaxy S III variants, while Samsung and the rest of the Android camp may have to cope with a bigger than usual iPhone update as 2012 heads into the sunset.
Strategy Analytics: iPad keeps riding high in Q2 tablet market share, Android doesn't budge
The Apple iPad may as well be called the Teflon Tablet for now, since challengers can't quite stick. Thanks to those 17 million iPads shipped in the second quarter, Strategy Analytics estimates that Apple held on to the 68 percent of tablet market share that IDC credited to the company in the previous season. That may not sound like a change in the status quo, but it's a significant jump from the 62 percent Apple had a year ago -- and not very good news for anyone else. Android is still holding on at 29.3 percent, although that's slightly underwhelming given the surge of extra devices in that time frame. The real hurt was dished out to Windows 7 tablets and "others" like RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook, both of whom were cut down to just 1.2 points of share each in the spring. We'll see if the newer crowd moves the needle for Android in the summer, although the well-received Nexus 7's current scarcity won't help its chances -- and both Microsoft as well as RIM are in holding patterns for the next several months.
Beats increases its share ownership to 75%, lets HTC keep 'commercial exclusivity in mobile'
Although HTC and Beats are just shy of the one-year anniversary of their 300 million dollar partnership, it looks like the two are again growing apart. In a letter to shareholders today, it's been announced that the original owners of Beats plan to buy back 25 percent of its own shares, for a total ownership stake of 75 percent. That said, HTC will still retain nearly 25 percent of the remaining shares for itself, ensuring that it remains the largest external shareholder. As the release puts it, this new setup "provides Beats with more flexibility for global expansion while maintaining HTC's major stake and commercial exclusivity in mobile." All in all, it seems like this is more about shifting priorities given recent news like Beats' MOG acquisition, but it wouldn't make eventual breakup all the more unsurprising given the partnership's mixed results.
Visualized: The iPhone five years after launch
In case you somehow missed it, today is an important milestone in technology nostalgia: it's the fifth anniversary of the original iPhone's launch. We'll let you explore the memories of that insane day on your own terms, but ComScore has produced a visual breakdown of just how ownership has grown and shifted over the years. It's not hard to see that adoption has been on an accelerating curve, especially after the 2010 launch of the Retina display-toting iPhone 4: as of this past May, about three quarters of owners have either the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 4S. And the 2007 edition? Only two percent of all iPhone owners are still actively holding on to the aluminum-clad debut model, which suggests most would rather have Siri than reminisce. Whether you're a fan or have since moved on to a competitor, the chart is a reminder of just how far one of Steve Jobs' biggest projects has come.
Google adds same-site recommendations to +1 buttons, but only for platform preview testers
On the eve of its I/O event, Google is continuing to roll out new features, one of which is expanded functionality for its ubiquitous +1 sharing buttons that can be found all over the web (and on this site). For users that are a member of its platform preview test group, other than clicking once to +1 something, or clicking again to share it on Google+, now on mouseover it will display recommended pages as seen above. According to the corresponding blog post, it pulls in related content and stuff shared by friends, and will only display selections from the same domain or subdomain as the page the button is on. Google anticipates this will go live to all users "in the next few weeks", if you can't wait until then hit the more coverage link below to join the preview and give feedback on how well it's working.
Nexon invests $687M in NCsoft, becomes largest shareholder
MMO competitors and countrymen-in-arms Nexon and NCsoft are closer than ever today, as Nexon has acquired a minority interest in its fellow company. The move makes Nexon NCsoft's largest shareholder. Nexon announced that it had invested in NCsoft by snapping up 3,218,091 shares in a private transaction. The deal cost Nexon 804,522,750,000 South Korean Won, or $687 million US. This puts Nexon's share ownership of NCsoft at 14.7%. It will certainly be interesting to see how this investment affects the future of both Nexon and NCsoft. Nexon said that it "forms the basis of a long-term partnership" between the two companies. Nexon has been making aggressive moves of late, particularly with acquiring Taiwanese publisher Gamania last month.
