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Despite artist tension, Spotify subscriptions are growing quickly
At the end of 2014, artists like Taylor Swift pulled their music from Spotify citing inadequate compensation and music being made available to non-subscribers free of charge. Those vocal lashings didn't stymie growth though, as the streaming service has added 2.5 million paying users since November, bringing its paid tally to 15 million. During that time, the total user count grew to 60 million -- up from 50 million in two months. What's more, the growth is accelerating: It took about 17 months for Spotify to move from 5 to 10 million, but roughly half that time to hit 15 million. This means that only a quarter of the company's active users are paying customers, a percentage that's remained consistent for a while now.
Instagram celebrates 300 million users, which is more than Twitter
There's apparently over 300 million people on Instagram - and they're really sharing those photos: to the tune of 70 million stills and videos every day. The user count puts it above Twitter, although it's still far behind the number using Facebook -- which, well, owns Instagram. In the last year, it's added a People tab to coerce users into following more people showcase notable accounts, while Instagram's spin-off video app, the addictive Hyperlapse, also launched in August -- giving a better reason to post videos. While it might have reached a new user milestone, Instagram's now attempting to hack away at that number: you might have noticed a little notification inside the app saying that the team was purging spam accounts - warning, your follower count may drop. Meanwhile, celebrities, brands and other well-monied types are being granted with verified badges starting today. Apparently, Mat Smith The Brand still needs some work.
An average Tinder user spends 90 minutes swiping each day
The swipe left or right method of match making has helped Tinder rise in popularity since its debut two years ago. In a report from The New York Times, we get a glimpse at just how folks are using the app. In the aforementioned time frame, the mobile software is said to be approaching 50 million users as it sorts over a billion swipe-based likes/dislikes every day. As far as average user stats go, a typical user logs in 11 times a day, spending an hour and a half perusing. Women tend to browse a smidge longer than men per session though -- staying 8.5 minutes versus 7.2 for the fellas. In terms of "likes," male users swipe right on 46 percent of the snapshots they view, which is almost three times more often than female Tinder enthusiasts. With premium features on the way for scouting other locales, it'll be interesting to see how the outfit maintains its growing audience.
Former researcher says Facebook's behavioral experiments had 'few limits'
Facebook's still trying to brush off that whole psychological study with unaware users thing, but according to a former team member and outside researchers, the social network's data science department has had (changes have been promised) surprisingly free rein over how it polled and tweaked the site. Andrew Ledvina, who worked as a Facebook data scientist from February 2012 to July 2013, told the WSJ: "Anyone on that team could run a test." In 2010, the research team gauged how "political mobilization messages" delivered to 61 million users affected voting in the US congressional elections that year, while in 2012, thousands of users received a warning that they were being locked out of Facebook. While the reason given was that it believed they were bots or using a fake name, the network already knew that the majority were real users -- it was apparently all in aid of improving Facebook's anti-fraud system.
Whatsapp now has 500 million active users to offer its new social overlord
Some companies lose their following after an acquisition, but not Whatsapp -- apparently, its userbase just continued to grow after Facebook bought it for $19 billion. The FB-owned entity has revealed that it now has 500 million active users, up 50 million from the time the social network snapped it up. According to Whatsapp CEO Jan Kuom, the app has seen the fastest growth in Brazil, India, Mexico and Russia in recent months. Kuom didn't mention whether the buyout helped boost Whatsapp's influence in those regions, but it's worth noting that Brazil, India and Mexico had some of the biggest Facebook user numbers in 2013, according to a statistics analyst. He also mentioned that people have been sharing over 700 million photos and 100 million videos per day over the app. With growth like this, we wouldn't be surprised if it's true that providers everywhere have collectively lost out on $33 billion due to the popular messaging app. Unfortunately, the CEO didn't have anything to share about the VoIP feature for iOS, so the Whatsapp faithful will have to wait a bit more.
Twitter's updated IPO plans reveal TWTR stock on NYSE, 232 million active users
Twitter isn't a public company just yet, but its updated S-1 filing hit today and showed how it's grown in the last three months. While it showed 218 million monthly active users by the end of June, its Q3 stats have grown to 232 million (53 million of them are in the US). While the number of users accessing the service from mobile devices grew slightly from 75 to 76 percent, ad revenue on mobile grew 37 percent since the last report, compared to other revenue which was up 9 percent. It's making more money too, with revenue for the quarter of $168.6 million, up from $139 million in Q2 and $82 million for the same period last year. If you want to invest in the right stock at its IPO, look for TWTR on the NYSE -- until then prospective investors can dig through the financial data here and follow the @TwitterIR account for updates.
Final Fantasy XIV tops 1 million unique logins, previews first patch
It might seem as if everyone is playing Final Fantasy XIV these days. In the most recent live Producer's Letter, Naoki Yoshida made it clear that while it's not everyone, the game has certainly attracted sizable numbers. Over one million unique logins have taken place since the launch, with an average of 617,000 unique daily logins and a concurrency peak of 344,000 users, which is pretty good when you take into account the game's troubled launch history. But the development team isn't focusing just on the past. The game's first patch is in the works; it's due to hit the live servers this year, and it contains a lot of extra content. Housing will be included, as will the game's first PvP arena and new extreme difficulty fights for each of the Primals. The patch will also include a new Primal fight against Good King Moogle Mog, hard modes for two dungeons, a new dungeon, daily quests, random matching rewards, a treasure hunting system... a lot of stuff, in other words. So maybe those million unique players are on to something. [Thanks to Scott for the tip]
WhatsApp says it has 250 million users
Mobile messaging app WhatsApp has hit a huge total of 250 million users, the company has told the Wall Street Journal. A couple of million users these days is no big deal, considering how big the smartphone audience has become, but 250 million users is significant. In fact, it's on par with Twitter or LinkedIn, and nearly the size of Skype. WhatsApp is one of a series of apps that allow users to send text messages back and forth to any device for free. Essentially, it's a "text-over-IP" type of service. That may not sound all that interesting (and again, there are a number of apps that do this, going all the way back to AOL's own Instant Messenger), but sending messages without paying an individual charge is obviously very appealing to a large audience, and WhatsApp has put a lot of those people together on its network. WhatsApp is also notable for charging a US$0.99 premium cost right up front, without any other in-app purchases or hidden fees. With a simple-to-understand, easy-to-use and one-time-pay messaging service, maybe it's easy to see just why WhatsApp is so popular. [via Mashable]
Study: Mobile gamers download five titles a month, mostly through word of mouth
A new study released by Applifier says that word of mouth is still the number one way mobile game players find the games they like. That doesn't necessarily mean in-person discussion about mobile games, however, though 36 percent of users did report that hearing from a friend or family member was a major source of games, and 25 percent of users said actually seeing a friend or family member play a game was one way they found out about their favorites. However, 43 percent of users say reading user reviews was the main way they found what they liked to play. Video is another big game pusher -- 70 percent of users polled by Applifier say that they watched online video about mobile games in the last week, and 45 percent of users said that watching the video had them downloading that same game right away. Most mobile game players, according to Applifier, download up to five mobile games a month, which is just a little more than one per week. Those games are played for about three hours per week, though obviously that's spread out across the entire week, so most likely little bits here and there rather than three hours at a time. And 20 percent of users, said Applifier, can be classified as "sharers," which means they are more likely to download more games, play more often and for longer and convert to paying users. All interesting stuff. For all of the infrastructure for app discovery built by Apple and others, odds are that you're still hearing about your favorite iOS downloads from the people that you know best anyway.
Songza 3.0 update available now
We mentioned Songza's iOS app last year around when it came out, and the music sharing service has just updated the app to version 3.0. The free app has been almost completely reimagined, and while it still offers plenty of tunes to listen to, the interface has been revamped -- it's much cleaner, flatter, and has some nice bits of plain color included. The "Concierge" service is still there and upgraded, so if you simply tell the app what you're doing, it'll try to get you some music to do that with. The company has also focused on ease-of-use, so for example, just holding down any Concierge station button will start up the music, no matter what, so you can get things rolling as quickly as possible. The new version also includes an updated "HQ Audio" system, so the tunes you're hearing can sound as good as possible. As before, Songza can be downloaded for free, and whether you missed it or have wandered away from the app in the past, the latest version adds enough new that it's definitely worth another look. Elias Roman, Songza's co-founder, also tells TUAW that the company has hit a few new milestones recently. The app has just seen its 6 millionth install from the App Store, and served over 560 million songs in just the last month. Songza claims 4.7 million monthly active users, and it says that in total those users spend over 65 million minutes playing tunes every day. That's a sizable user base for sure, and we'll have to see if this updated version makes Songza even more popular.
Status Board updated with bugfixes, performance improvements
Panic's well-received Status Board app has been updated to version 1.1, and as you might imagine, it's mostly a bugfix update. The biggest issue fixed was probably a bug with sending standard video out, but that should be all taken care of according to Panic (sending HD video out still requires an in-app purchase). The Calendar List panel also deals with resizing much better, and there are now options for either Celsius or Farenheit listings for each Weather panel you have showing. If you're enjoying Status Board, you may also want to check out our five surprising uses for the app, or take a look at some of the other widgets users have been putting together for the service. Status Board is wonderfully designed, but the app itself is really just a container. It's up to you to fill it up with whatever you'd like to be updated about. If you haven't gotten Status Board for your iPad yet, you can grab it from the App Store for US$9.99. That's a premium price, but Panic clearly put a lot of work into this one-of-a-kind utility.
Zynga's website removes Facebook login requirement
Zynga has redesigned its website, no longer requiring gamers to log into the site using the Facebook credentials.Once upon a time, Facebook and Zynga were the best of pals, with Zynga's titles driving engagement on the big blue social network and Facebook providing a steady stream of new users to play Zynga's offerings. Last year, however, Facebook and Zynga decided to start parting ways, and that's led us to this current situation, where Zynga is pushing its platform beyond the walls of the Facebook system.Not completely outside, however: Zynga players can still log into Facebook on Zynga.com if they like, and as you can see on the site, the Facebook logo and login box are still prominently displayed. But players are no longer forced to use that process to partake in Zynga's library of games.
App.net introduces a free tier, currently invite-only
App.net is a service that's had its fans and opponents -- it's currently used as a microblogging service, similar to Twitter, where users can share files and updates easily. But unlike Twitter, App.net's had a philosophy of staying away from ads, letting users keep all rights to the content they create, and keeping the API as open as possible. Until now, App.net has only had paid tiers of service, but starting today, they've announced a free tier, meaning users can now join the site and the network for free. As you might expect, there are some limits. First, you'll need an invite, and the invites are being given out to paid account holders, so it's not exactly an open door just yet. After you sign up, free accounts can only follow a max of 40 people, and will only have access to 500 MB of storage, with a max file size of 10 MB. App.net is also giving away some extra storage space to those who invite users who stick around and follow others, so if you have a paid account already, there's a chance at a bonus if you invite the right people. If you don't get in on this first run, don't worry -- App.net's devs say they're going to be opening up the process going forward, depending on how it goes. App.net's API is now used by more than 100 third-party apps on a number of different platforms (including apps like Netbot for iPad on iOS), and I expect that number will rise as more and more people join and use the service. In the past, App.net has gained attention (and accolades) for being a very limited, paid-only network, but offering a freemium tier like this is the next step towards really creating the "movement" and ecosystem the team originally wanted.
Apple's iCloud user base grows to over 250 million
The hits keep coming for the crowd in Cupertino, as the company just informed the world on its earnings call today that its iCloud platform now boasts a quarter of a billion users. This time last year, Apple's cloud storage service had but a mere 85 million customers, but 2013 has seen that number triple to 250 million. How? We're guessing that all those iPads and iPhones it's sold in the last year probably have something to do with it.
Twitter notches more than 200 million active monthly users
Sure, Facebook may have scored one billion active monthly users earlier this fall, but Twitter has some celebrating to do as well -- albeit for a significantly smaller figure. Rather than commemorating the announcement with an awkward commercial comparing itself to furniture, Twitter sent out a solitary tweet stating that it now has more than 200 million monthly active users. We last checked in on the microblogging service's traction when it had 175 million registered users in 2010, and as of last summer it's said to be sitting pretty with more than 500 million in total. Costolo and Co. may not have numbers as enormous as Facebook, but these stats aren't exactly something to scoff at. [Image credit: Coletivo Mambembe, Flickr]
Nexon releases Dungeon Fighter Gunner for iPhone
Nexon has released a version of its extremely popular (in Asia, at least) Dungeon Fighter Online game on the iPhone, called Dungeon Fighter Gunner. You can download the title right now -- it's pretty standard fare, featuring lots of onscreen touch controls, and the same 2D beat-em-up style gameplay that makes the online title so popular overseas. But what's most important about this app isn't necessarily what it is, but what it represents. Dungeon Fighter Online is a huge franchise, boasting over 300 million registered users around the world. That's gigantic -- by comparison, World of Warcraft (definitely the largest MMORPG in the West) hosted about 12 million users at its peak. DFO is by far Nexon's biggest title, and while it has put a few apps onto the store already, this is the first app it's released that's been related to the DFO juggernaut. So we'll have to see how this one does. There are some huge brands out there in terms of online gaming, both in the East and West, that could benefit a lot from some tie-in titles on the App Store. If this game does well, or gains just a fraction of the audience it already has on the PC, we could be looking at the first in a series of big tie-in hits.
DeNA and Square Enix to release new mobile Final Fantasy game
DeNA is one of the larger social networks coming out of Asia lately (they're probably best known around these parts for buying mobile game developer ngmoco), and the company announced this morning that it's teamed up with Final Fantasy creators Square Enix to publish a new Final Fantasy-branded title on iOS and Android. Final Fantasy Airborne Brigade is the name, and it's a casual social game centered on flying airships around a fantasy setting, working together with other players to bring down bad guys, earn experience and level up characters and their abilities. The game is due out on the App Store soon, and will be a free download, so when it does arrive, we'll be able to check it all out and see how it works right away. But even more interesting than the actual game at this point is the deal behind it: DeNA is using the much-loved Final Fantasy brand to try and grow its network of connected gamers. This is a really strong push for DeNA in the West, and while it (and other Eastern social networks) have made lots of tries at attracting gamers' attention before, using the much-loved Final Fantasy brand is probably their strongest tactic yet. They're asking fans to sign up on the website right now (thus getting them involved in the big Mobage network), and offering a special "Cloud" card in the game for doing so, featuring the popular character from Final Fantasy VII. It remains to be seen if this move will work, but again: DeNA and their competitors have been fishing for new users in the Western market for a while now, and the Square Enix brand is probably their most powerful bait yet. Show full PR text DeNA and Square Enix Partner to Bring FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE Mobile Game to Players in United States and Canada Pre-registration for the Free Game Guarantees an Exclusive Complimentary In-game Card Featuring the Character "Cloud" SAN FRANCISCO – November 29, 2012 – Following the game's success with more than three million registered users in Japan, DeNA Co., Ltd. (TSE: 2432) and Square Enix Co., Ltd. announced today that the two companies are bringing FINAL FANTASY® AIRBORNE BRIGADE™ to mobile phone users in the US and Canada. This is the first FINAL FANTASY free-to-play social game to be released in English. FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE is an easy-to-play social game where players cooperate and adventure through a world inspired by the popular FINAL FANTASY series. Each player rides an airship, and forms groups called airborne brigades in order to fight powerful bosses. Each player gains experience, and levels up by adventuring through quest regions. They will encounter foes and obtain abilities and items straight from the FINAL FANTASY series. "We're very proud to offer FINAL FANTASY fans based in the US and Canada our own take on the themes and ideals of the series with the upcoming launch of the mobile game FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE," said Kenji Kobayashi, executive games director at DeNA. "In celebration of the franchise's 25th anniversary this year, we strived to create a unique gameplay experience where players can elevate each other through fun, cooperative play." The game appeals to FINAL FANTASY fans as well as players new to the franchise. FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE will be available soon as a free download on Android and iOS devices. Players can pre-register for the game and be alerted via email as soon as the game is available for free download. Pre-registered players can obtain a free three-month exclusive in-game card featuring Cloud, one of the most popular FINAL FANTASY characters of all time, which will help them during boss battles. To pre-register for FINAL FANTASY AIRBORNE BRIGADE, please visit: ffairbornebrigade.com
Dropbox hits 100 million users, looking for great Dropbox stories
Dropbox has announced that it has reached 100 million users, an impressive number to be sure. For comparison's sake, here's Wikipedia's list of virtual communities with more than 100 million users, which currently has seven companies on it, so Dropbox has just joined a very exclusive club. Twitter, for example, hit 100 million earlier this year, and Facebook has 166.1 million users in the US at last count. To think that Dropbox is shoulder to shoulder with those kinds of companies is very impressive indeed. To celebrate, Dropbox is going to give away a few 100 GB for life packages, and they want Dropbox users to log in and share their stories of how they use the service. There are all kinds of great examples on there, from wedding photo sharing to high school coaches that use the service to share game plans. Personally, I've got three computers and about four devices wandering around my life at this point, and Dropbox has become my de facto way of making sure I have important documents and files when I need them. I also use it for backup, keeping archives of my blog posts and various interview transcripts in the cloud, so that if any specific hard drive dies, I've always got a copy on Dropbox's servers. Finally, I work on a few different podcasts, and we use shared folders on Dropbox to share audio and talksheets with our hosts and guests. Dropbox is a great service, and we congratulate them on all of their success so far. Here's to 100 million more!
Zuckerberg: more than 1 billion people using Facebook actively each month
Active accounts have become one of the hottest currencies online, especially for social networks. Previous boasts by Facebook have been quickly shot down, but this latest number is pretty hard to ignore. According to Zuckerberg himself the site now has 1 billion active monthly users. That's right, one in seven people on the planet logs on to the social network at least once a full moon cycle. The announcement comes via the site's official news blog, which if the numbers are true, could mean most of you have read this already. Zuckerberg broke the news originally in a Q&A with Bloomberg Businessweek, also claiming that the site now has 600 million mobile users.
App Store has growing population of never-downloaded "zombie apps"
Here's a discouraging statistic for independent developers looking to break into the increasingly crowded iOS App Store. According to a report from mobile analytics firm Adeven, over two thirds of the store consists of "zombie" apps, which generate few downloads and almost no revenue to their creators. The total number of these apps sits at around 400,000, so while Apple often brags that there are hundreds of thousands of apps available on the App Store, the majority of these aren't of interest to most users, and likely aren't getting discovered. How are developers making money on the App Store then? Apple's marketplace is looking increasingly more and more like the traditional software market, in that a few companies with a lot of experience, brand recognition and marketing money are able to catapult their products up into the Top 25, where they're usually profitable as long as they can sit there. There's also a thriving market for apps that address specific business verticals rather than aiming at the general consumer. Not all is lost, however: It's still possible for really well-done apps to break out into the public's view, even though it takes a little luck to do so (hasn't that always been the case?). But the next time Apple comments on the number of apps it has on sale, keep in mind that many of those apps are seldom glanced at by potential buyers. There's a very busy strip of apps at the top of the App Store, and a huge swath of empty strip mall apps out there not seeing much traffic at all. [via iJailbreak]
