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Windows Phone Marketplace hits 50,000 app-submission milestone
Just over one month after crossing the 40,000 app-submission threshold, Microsoft's Windows Phone Marketplace has hit another milestone: 50,000. According to analyses done by All About Windows Phone, the Taj Mahal of tiles has seen developers submit just over 50,000 applications for review -- 42,655 of which are currently available in the United States. What may be more telling is the rate at which developers are submitting their wares. Over 17,000 apps have been submitted to the Marketplace in the last 90-days from over 13,000 different publishers (an average of 265 per day). With Apple's iOS App Store and Google's Android Market sitting firmly atop the mobile-app-ecosystem totem pole, Microsoft is looking to close the gap and put distance between itself and Research In Motion's BlackBerry App World. Hopefully, the gang from Redmond can keep the positive momentum going through 2012... even with its next major mobile OS revision being a minor one.
Analyst claims that Star Wars: The Old Republic points to a healthy MMO market
The gaming industry is pretty morbid when you get right down to it. 2011 has seen several people predicting the death of the MMO market and the death of subscription games, often times in the same sentence. But according to analyst Colin Sebastian, the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic makes it clear that these reports of death have been greatly exaggerated. As Sebastian puts it, the unprecedented growth of SWTOR's player figures indicates that the market still possesses a demand for new games and still responds favorably. Sebastian goes on to predict that the game will likely move around three million units by March 2012, the end of the fiscal year, although he believes that staying power is a bit more questionable. He believes that predictions of up to two million paying users by the end of 2012 might be overly optimistic. That having been said, the game has certainly come out of the gate with real strength; it only remains to be seen if it can maintain that.
The Android Market sale reaches its final day, we bid fond farewell to more dimes
Here's looking at you, kid. We've reached the tenth and final day of the Android Market Ten Billion App sale, and we're a bit saddened to see it go -- but we just have to remember all the good times we had. While we wish it could go on forever, it simply wasn't meant to be that way. So instead of crying, let's go shopping and make the best of day ten, shall we? A few oldies are making their triumphant return, such as Sentinel 3, Apparatus and Colour and Draw for Kids. There are some games, such as Shine Runner, Hyper Jump, Majesty, Heavy Gunner 3D, Puffle Launch and TileStorm HD. The kids might also enjoy Talking Ben the Dog while the adults may be riveted by Star Chart. Finally, if you're frustrated with the camera app on your current phone, check out Camera Zoom FX. Then, once finished, be sure to wave as the sale rides off into the sunset.
Nissan Leaf branches out to an additional six states, plus one Island
The Nissan Leaf is inching closer to national ubiquity, with the addition of seven new markets across the continental US. In a statement issued yesterday, the manufacturer announced that its EV will soon be available within Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, with the first deliveries scheduled to roll out in Spring 2012. This expansion, which comes nearly one year after the Leaf's grand debut, means that the plug-in is now available in a full 30 US states (including Washington, DC), though Nissan hopes to bring it to the full 50 by March of next year. Rustle past the break for the full PR.
Yahoo Hub offers free messaging to anyone, locks horns with RIM and Google
Yahoo, evidently tired of being passed up by hundreds of free messaging apps floating around the various smartphone application stores, has launched a service of its own to take on the likes of BBM and Google Messenger. The new app, called Hub, is only available for Android devices at the moment, but there's a brightside here: you can send a message to anyone, not just other folks who've downloaded the same app. The recipient -- or multiple recipients, since group chat is allowed -- can easily reply to the thread using their own standard SMS service. Curiously, Hub is only offered if you have a US SIM card and a text plan, even though the messages are transmitted using your data connection or WiFi. If you do a lot of international travel, Hub is supported in nine other countries besides the US, a rather small number we hope will grow as the service graduates from its beta status. While Yahoo can use all the help it can get right now, is this going to endear very many users? [Thanks, Ashish]
StatCounter: Chrome leapfrogs Firefox for the first time, still trails Internet Explorer
StatCounter has just released its latest global report on web browser usage, and it's something of a doozy. According to the analytics firm, Google Chrome overtook Mozilla Firefox for the first time this month, becoming the world's second most widely used browser. During November, Chrome accounted for about 25.7 percent of the global market, up from a measly 4.66 percent in 2009, and slightly higher than the 25.2 percent that Firefox pulled down this month. It still trails Internet Explorer, however, which enjoys a healthy 40.6 percent market share globally, and a 50.7 percent share in the US. As the above graph clearly demonstrates, though, both IE and Firefox have seen notable declines in recent months, though the latter still has a slim lead over Chrome in the US market, with a 20.9 percent share, compared with Google's 17.3 percent cut. For more country-specific stats and crunchy numbers, check out the source link, below.
The Daily Grind: Do you buy from a vendor?
In your average, run-of-the-mill themepark MMO, you'll encounter waves of NPC merchants tucked away in their own little market districts, offering everything from consumable potions to crafting materials to weapons, armor, and more. But often times, what they have to sell is nothing compared to the rewards you get from quest-givers. With the exception of a few necessary crafting components, I think it's safe to say that NPC vendors can be ignored, as long as you complete the area's quests successfully, which brings it down to a question of playstyle. You can ignore the quests, not craft a thing, and buy everything from a vendor... if you can somehow raise the money without doing quests. That's up to you. So our question for you on this Black Friday is this: Do you buy your wardrobe and arsenal from the NPC merchants, or if given the chance, would you rather make the items yourself, buy from other players, or earn your keep through quests? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Strategy Analytics: China leapfrogs US to become world's top smartphone market
The winds of tech consumerism are changing course. More specifically, they're heading east. According to the latest Q3 figures from Strategy Analytics, China is now the world's largest smartphone market by volume, overtaking the US for the first time. According to the research firm, smartphone shipments in China reached a record high of 23.9 million units during the third quarter of this year, up 58 percent from Q2. Compare that with the US, which saw shipments decline by seven percent over the quarter, to 23.3 million units. The Boston-based firm attributed much of China's growth to a spike in cheaper, Android-based handsets from companies like ZTE, as well as a flowering of subsidized higher-end models, like the iPhone. Nokia leads the way within the People's Republic, accounting for 28 percent of all quarterly shipments, followed by Samsung, with an 18 percent share. Find more quotes and charts in the press release after the break, or hit up the source link below for the full report.
Google Music available on T-Mobile devices, track purchases can be direct billed
T-Mobile just announced at Google's "These Go To Eleven" event that it will enable tracks purchased through Google Music to be direct billed to its subscribers. Exclusive content will also be available for T-Mobile customers for free -- you'll be able to grab tracks from Drake, Maroon 5, Busta Rhymes and other artists to be announced later. When asked when this will be ready for primetime, we were told that no ETA has been set so far, so it sounds like there's still a few ducks that aren't in a row quite just yet. T-Mo seems pretty confident that its network will be able to handle the massive explosion of data usage that will likely follow -- a pretty impressive feat, given the carrier's proclamation that 75 percent of its phones are smartphones, and 90 percent of those run Android -- and we're confident that we want to take advantage of that capacity to our best abilities.
Goldman Sachs sees iPad demand slowing
Almost two years after the iPad launch, Goldman Sachs reports that demand is slowing down, just as the holiday shopping season begins. "While improving holiday demand into late November could certainly push the momentum in the other direction, we believe it is prudent to assume the iPad is facing some near-term demand challenges," writes Bill Shope. Shope believes price is the reason. Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet is much less expensive at US$199, for example. While many consumers are still willing to pay more for a quality product, there's no question price is a big driver in a market like this. Shope recommends that if Apple wants to keep demand for the iPad as high as it's been in the past, the company will need to get the price down. The iPhone's price dropped off sharply after introduction, but we haven't seen that same drop with the iPad. Shope also says that increasing adoption of iCloud and Siri integration would likely drive iPad demand back up. Shope does call the iPad's growth chart "remarkable by any metric," but his analysis says Apple must act soon to kick the iPad back out into the spotlight as competing tablets threaten to take it away.
Appcelerator: iOS still has highest developer interest, Kindle Fire heating up
The latest Appcelerator survey says developers are still most interested in putting together apps for the iOS platform, with 91 percent of them "very interested" in developing for the iPhone, and 88 percent going for the iPad. iOS 5 was also cited by developers surveyed as the most significant announcement for mobile in the last quarter. But just because iOS is leading the pack doesn't mean developers aren't still looking at other platforms. In fact, the Kindle Fire is shooting up the charts of developer interest, and it's sitting at just a few points lower (49 compared to 53 percent) than the iPad was back when it launched. Android in general has been tempting developer interest, but the Kindle Fire specifically has developers giving it a serious look. That said, reviews are coming out today on the Fire (just as the device is shipping), and they say that the device doesn't have much to offer besides price when compared to the iPad. But as any freemium developer knows, a cheaper price can make for a bigger install base. If the Kindle Fire turns out to burn up the tablet charts, we could see more developers heading off to that platform in the future.
China Telecom looking to expand into US consumer market, eyes 2012 launch
Instead of resting on its laurels as China's third-largest wireless provider, China Telecom is now looking to branch out into relatively uncharted waters -- namely, the US consumer market. In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Donald Tan, president of China Telecom Americas, confirmed that his company plans to bring its own branded wireless service to select US markets next year, in the hopes of capitalizing on the large Chinese communities and consumer bases scattered across the country. According to Tan, the proposed service would provide customers with handsets that could be used in both China and the US, theoretically appealing to Chinese-Americans, students or businessmen who travel frequently between the two countries. The exec didn't reveal much in the way of pricing, saying only that it would be "competitive," though he did acknowledge that the service is already undergoing trials with several unnamed wholesale partners. If the trial goes swimmingly, he added, China Telecom may expand it to Canada, as well, and would even consider purchasing or constructing its own network in the States (pending FCC approval, of course). The provider, which has already been marketing its services to US corporations for a decade, also has the capacity to spend "hundreds of millions or billions" on stateside acquisitions, though none are currently on the table. "We want some acquisitions in the U.S. and other countries on this continent," Tan explained. "It's a very quick way to growth."
Starbucks launching augmented reality Cup Magic app for the holidays
Starbucks is going to kick off the holiday season with a special app for iPhone and Android devices that will interact with art on holiday cups at the popular coffee shops around the world. You can see the app in action in the video below. As you can see, it's not really so functional as just a fun way to interact with the company's product. But the app does provide a little bit of interactivity, and apparently you can send holiday ecards directly from the software, as well as possibly win a prize for playing with all of the AR scenes. The app is set to be available on November 15th, a few days before Thanksgiving. This release will end a year of really interesting mobile phone-based initiatives from the company, including that mobile payment app that came out back in January. That app has been used in over 20 million transactions already, and Starbucks has also release apps that work with QR codes for more in-store interactivity, as well as an app to manage the company's Starbucks card program. It is fair to say Starbucks has seen a bit of success using the mobile app market to develop its brand and its retail experience. It'll be interesting to see if other retailers try to take on this kind of interactivity next year.
Hitting it big in the App Store ... or not
Lots of developers are aiming for huge success in the App Store, and it seems like nearly every day we're reading about someone who made a big game and is picking up something like a million dollars a day from customers clicking that little "Install" button. L'Escapadou didn't make quite that much -- it's a studio that works on "educational and fun apps for iOS," and in this blog post, developer Pierre Abel walks through the $200,000 the company has made on the App Store so far. As you can read, however, it's a combination of a lot of hard work, and a little bit of luck -- Abel worked for months on the few apps he's produced for the store, and only after he got covered in the press for the right audience did he see a nice jump in sales. Also note that it took multiple updates -- none of his apps soared in revenue right out of the gate; he had to provide new content based on customer feedback and support his released apps before he saw the charts curve upwards. But not everybody sees even that level of success. FastCompany recently posted an accusation that the App Store was "more of a casino than a gold mine," excerpting a new book called "Appilionaires" that suggests developers investing big in the App Store might as well just put all of their money on black at Harrah's. Maybe it's true, that the App Store is the "world's most competitive software market," but to hear this excerpt tell it, success with an iOS app is all luck -- being in the right place with the right app at the right time, to get swept up into the machine of fame and success, or losing all of your money and time invested with a great app that no one ever notices or sees. Of course the truth is somewhere in between -- some great apps do sit there for a while before anyone notices just how good they are, and some terrible apps get caught up in hype or marketing and pick up lots of revenue anyway. In the end, the App Store works very much like any other marketplace: You need to have a product that people want, and then show people it exists and convince them that they want it. Despite the "gold mine" dreams, creating and releasing an app is a lot of work, even if some people are better or more experienced at that work than others. There is money to be made on the App Store -- that's for sure. But how that money is made and by whom is controlled by many factors, of which luck is only one.
Android Market v3.3.11 APK now available, adds auto-update by default and other new settings
The latest revision of Google's Android Market app is hitting handsets now, and while it doesn't bring any new tabs for music, Android Police mentions a few changes you might find notable. Among them are the ability to select auto updating for apps as the default option, as well as a setting to auto update only when connected via to the internet via WiFi. One change stolen from Honeycomb is a setting to automatically add homescreen shortcuts for new apps, while the UI has also been tweaked with a smaller font, new app drawer icon, and voice search button. As usual, it will probably automatically appear on your device eventually, but those who can't wait can hit the source link and download the ripped APK of v3.1.11 right now.
Canalys: HTC nips Apple, Samsung to become top smartphone vendor in US for Q3 2011
Boo! No, that's not your doorbell ringing again, that's HTC popping out of nowhere in order to toss a Nah-nah-nah-boo-boo in the direction of Samsung and Apple. Just days after Strategy Analytics published a global smartphone shipment report for Q3 2011, Canalys -- another formidable name in the sector -- has pushed out a report of its own. Not surprisingly, the global figures line up almost precisely with what we'd already heard, with Samsung's Q3 numbers rising above those from Apple, Nokia and the rest of the industry. The difference here, however, is the focal point on the US of A. Here in the States, Taiwan's own HTC is pulling rank; the aforesaid handset maker edged out Apple and Samsung by shipping 5.7 million smartphones. All told, it owned "around a quarter of the market," with Samsung (4.9 million) claiming the second spot and Apple (4.6 million) pulling in for the bronze. Conspicuously absent from the leader board? RIM, which saw its volume decline 58 percent from a year ago and its US market share sink from 24 percent in Q3 2010 to just 9 percent this quarter. Our take? HTC (and Samsung, from a global perspective) best enjoy it while the quarter lasts -- as soon as the iPhone 4S and Nokia's spate of Windows Phone devices start figuring in, we're guessing that the top spots will be completely up for grabs all over again.
IDC: Samsung, ZTE see jump in mobile shipments, Apple slides to fifth place
Q3 earnings reports have been pouring in over the past few days, which means it's time to check in with IDC on the state of the mobile market. The research firm's latest report, released today, is something of a mixed bag. On the one hand, Q3 global shipments increased by 12.8 percent year-over-year -- higher than the 9.3 percent that IDC had predicted for the quarter and the 9.8 percent growth observed last quarter. At the same time, however, the market grew at the second slowest pace in two years and shipments to Western Europe and the US actually declined over the year, something the company attributes to more restrained consumer spending and more widespread economic uncertainty. On the company level, both Samsung and ZTE came away as the biggest winners this quarter; Sammy's shipments increased by 23 percent over the year, good for second place, while ZTE's shot up by a whopping 57.9 percent, launching the company into fourth place. Apple, meanwhile, saw 26.2 percent growth in its shipments and a slight bump in market share, but still couldn't avoid getting leapfrogged by ZTE and dropping down to fifth place. And then there's LG, which had by far the worst quarter, relative to Q3 2010. The manufacturer saw shipments decline by nearly 26 percent over the year, while its market share slipped to 5.4 percent. All these horses, however, are still chasing Nokia, which saw a small drop in shipments, but managed to hang on to the top spot, with over 106 million shipments during the quarter -- good for 27 percent of the market. For more numbers and insight, check out the full PR after the break.
Report suggests Apple slipping in handset rankings
Last quarter was a transition quarter for Apple and its iPhone. Sales of the 18-month-old iPhone 4 fell slightly as the company prepared to introduce the iPhone 4S. This slowdown caused Apple to slip to fifth place in the global handset market and to the number two slot in the global smartphone market, according to Strategy Analytics. Strategy Analytics's report examines global handset shipments and reveals that Apple now trails Nokia, Samsung, LG and ZTE. Chinese manufacturer ZTE shipped 18.5 million handsets last quarter and beat out Apple which shipped 17.1 million. Nokia held onto its first place position by shipping 106.6 million handsets, most of which are feature phones. In the smartphone market, Samsung climbed past Apple with 27.8 million in quarterly smartphone shipments. In the June 2011 quarter, Apple had slid past Samsung to claim first position, but it's time at the top was short-lived due to several market factors. Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics says, "We believe Apple's growth during the third quarter was affected by consumers and operators awaiting the launch of the new iPhone 4S in the fourth quarter, volatile economic conditions in several key countries, and tougher competition from Samsung's popular Galaxy S2 model." Apple may be down this last quarter, but next quarter should be significantly better. During its quarterly earnings conference call, Apple CEO Tim Cook assured analysts that the holiday quarter should see iPhone sales return to record-breaking levels. Early sales of the iPhone 4S have been brisk and these numbers are expected to climb now that Apple is rolling out the handset to additional countries. [Via AppleInsider]
ARM doubles Q3 profit, sees surge in revenue, is understandably pleased
The news just keeps getting better and better for ARM Holdings. Today, the chip designer reported third quarter net profits of £31.5 million ($50.4 million), more than double the £14.8 million it reported during Q3 2010. Revenue, meanwhile, rose to $192.3 million -- a 22 percent increase over the previous year, and a slightly higher figure than previously expected. In a statement, chief executive Warren East attributed these results to a "continued high level of design activity, with many new customers licensing ARM technology for the first time, driven by end-market requirements for smarter, low-power chips." Indeed, a total of one billion ARM mobile chips were shipped this quarter (up ten percent from last year), and the company expects to rake in about $763 million in total revenue, by the end of 2011. Find figures and facts galore, at the source link below.
Major Chinese supplier halts rare earths production in attempt to boost prices
With prices sliding and uncertainty rising, China's biggest producer of rare earth minerals has suddenly decided to suspend all operations, in a move that could strain already tense relations with the West. Baotou Steel, a miner, refiner and vendor located in Inner Mongolia, announced the decision in a statement today, explaining that it's simply looking to "balance supply and demand" in response to a prolonged price slump within China. Since June, in fact, prices of neodymium oxide and europium oxide have declined by 34 and 35 percent, respectively, with many analysts attributing the drop to mounting economic uncertainty in the US and Europe. Earlier this year, the Chinese government announced plans to merge or close some 35 rare earths producers within the mineral-rich northern region of Inner Mongolia, effectively crowning Baotou Steel as the industry's epicenter. Now, of course, that's all changed, though the shutdown will only last for one month. It's also worth noting that China still exerts rather considerable influence upon the market, accounting for roughly 97 percent of all production of rare earths -- a group of 17 minerals used to manufacture gadgets like cellphones, flat-screen TVs and EV batteries, among others. And while new deposits and market projections may point to a transforming landscape, it's unlikely that Chinese influence will wane anytime soon -- much to the chagrin of Western free trade advocates.
