Posts Tagged ‘Android’
Wednesday, May 8th, 2013
 For those wondering if small business owners are actually using mobile technology for their business, the answer is a definitive “yes,” according to new survey data from Constant Contact®, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTCT).
Of those surveyed in March 2013, 66 percent report currently using a mobile device, including smart phones and tablets, or a solution, like mobile-optimized websites and text message marketing.
While this majority adoption is promising, it’s important to note that, of the 34 percent not using any mobile device or solution for their business, a resounding 65 percent have no plans to do so in the future, mainly citing a lack of customer demand.
Email and Social Media Marketing Paving the Way
How are small businesses using mobile technology? The top two ways are email and social media marketing, and they have a considerable lead over other uses:
- 73 percent conduct social media marketing.
- 71 percent conduct email marketing.
- 44 percent advertise through social platforms.
- 34 percent have a mobile-optimized website.
- 18 percent run a mobile tablet-based payment point-of-sale.
- 18 percent use mobile apps to manage operations, like accounting.
“It’s encouraging that a majority of small businesses recognize that their customers are relying more than ever on their mobile devices to find information, look for deals, and even to make purchases,” said Joel Hughes, senior vice president of strategy and corporate development.
“That said, small business owners are still getting their sea legs, so it’s not surprising that they’re leading with two areas where they have a solid track record of success with customer engagement: social media and email.”
 When asked what types of mobile/social advertising they currently employ, 97 percent of respondents said social media like YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Location-based promotions (Foursquare® check-in, etc.) came in a distant second at 17 percent, and text message came in third at 15 percent.
A deeper look into mobile-optimized websites of small businesses reveals that 70 percent are social-media optimized. Other findings:
- 44 percent contain a menu.
- 40 percent contain individual product listings.
- 39 percent contain videos.
Apple & Android– The New POS?
In the battle of iOS vs. Android, iOS is the clear winner.
 The iPhone 5 Among small business owners, iPhone users trump Android users 66 percent to 39 percent, while iPad users trump Android tablet users 49 percent to 15 percent. iOS popularity among small business owners is not reflected among the general public where, according to a recent comScore MobiLens study that measures the smartphone platforms used by everyone in the U.S., Android subscribers account for 52.3 percent of all subscribers, while iOS subscribers account for 37.8 percent.
Small businesses are using these devices for point-of-sale functions. Seventy-one percent of small businesses using mobile technology accept mobile payments and 52 percent utilize a mobile-/tablet-based point-of-sale system.
Mobile Apps for Managing Operations
Mobile apps are playing a growing role in how small businesses manage operations.
- 82 percent use a calendar/time management app.
- 74 percent use a customer communications app.
- 52 percent use a GPS and mapping app.
- 44 percent use an accounting/invoicing app.
- 44 percent use an app for industry news/information consumption.
- 29 percent use a travel planning app.
Why Aren’t All Small Businesses Mobilizing Behind Mobile?
 When Constant Contact asked small business owners not using mobile the all-important question of why, here’s how they responded:
- 56 percent said their customers haven’t expressed demand for mobile communications.
- 47 percent said their customers haven’t expressed demand for mobile payment solutions.
- 36 percent said they are interested in mobile solutions but don’t know enough about how to best use them.
- 33 percent said they’re interested in mobile solutions but haven’t had time to implement any yet.
- 31 percent said they don’t have a work-/business-related smartphone.
- 28 percent said mobile is not relevant to their industry/business.
“Generally speaking, small business owners have very little spare time on their hands, so learning how to use mobile technology for their business is not necessarily tops on their ‘to do’ list,” said Hughes.
“We received some anecdotal survey responses that said ‘It costs too much’ and ‘I have no idea how this stuff works,’ representing the subset of small businesses that will forgo mobile opportunities until their customers start demanding mobile communications or payment solutions.”
Tags: advertising, Android, Apple iOS, Devices, email, Marketing, mobile technologies, small business, social media
Posted in Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile | No Comments »
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Mobile advertising will top 10 percent of all digital advertising this year and become a vital part of every major ad campaign, according to the State of Mobile Advertising report from Open Mediaworks.
The data originates from the company’s extensive mobile advertising platform, which consists of AdMarvel, Mobile Theory, 4th Screen Advertising and Opera Mediaworks Performance.
The platform serves 50+ billion ad impressions per month via 12,000 mobile sites and apps, delivering a total of $400M in revenue to mobile publishers in 2012.
Highlights from the report:
- iOS regains lead over Android for impression volume and maintains top position for monetization. Mobile ad campaigns running on Apple devices consistently achieve the highest average eCPMs and account for nearly half (49.2%) of all revenue delivered to mobile publishers. The iPhone also edged out Android phones this quarter in impression volume, regaining the No.1 position it lost temporarily at the end of 2012.
- Music, Video and Media dominates both volume and revenue. Mobile consumption of music, video and media continues to climb, reaching just over 29% of all ad requests, up from 21.4% the previous quarter. This quarter, revenue caught up to volume, as we saw the category earning the largest sum of revenue (17.7%) of any other category. Business and Finance sites, however, are still the most valuable, as they produce the highest revenue per impression.
- Europe’s mobile ad market is taking off. While mobile ad traffic is accelerating across all geographies, some of the fastest growth we are seeing is from the top 5 European countries (the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France and Spain). Some 21.5% of ad impressions on the Opera Mediaworks platform are now served in Europe, up from 15% at the end of 2012. However, the United States still generates the most revenue (75.4%) on the platform, even with a diminished impression volume (50.7% vs. 60% last quarter).
“Mobile advertising, which is expected to exceed 10% of all digital advertising this year, will become a vital facet of every major ad campaign in the upcoming year,” says Mahi de Silva , CEO, Opera Mediaworks.
“The size of the audience combined with rich media and engagement rates shows we will continue to see a shift of ad dollars away from traditional media and desktop digital media to tablets and smartphones. Overall, Q1 2013 was another record quarter for mobile advertising across the world – with a particularly strong March.”
The report also explores some new findings from the Opera Mediaworks team around recent performance-focused campaigns.
By digging deeper into contextual information (i.e., device and connection type) and using intelligent prioritization to make smarter decisions about campaign placement, advertisers are showing significant improvements to both click-through rates and conversions.
To read the full report, go to: http://www.opera.com/sma/.
Tags: 2013, Android, click-throughs, conversions, impression volume, iOS, mobile advertising, monetization, revenue, trends
Posted in Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 17th, 2013
 Building and marketing an app is becoming increasingly complex and will demand a systematic fact-based approach to handle market turbulences in the coming years.
Over the last few years, there has been something of a ‘developers gold rush’ as almost every software developer on the planet has tried to leap into the apps market looking to make a fortune off the next smash hit like Angry Birds.
 Angry Birds has both free and paid versions of its popular game. The reality is that only a very small percentage of developers create multi-million dollar smash hit apps.
With over 1.5 billion people regularly downloading mobile apps, users have downloaded more than 46 billion apps on their smartphones.
The fast-growing apps market generated revenues of $12 billion in 2012, and that figure is set to grow to $20.4 billion in 2013. Annually, revenues are growing at 35% in Europe, 50% inAsia and 30% in North America.
Learn where the money is coming from and how it will be generated in a new report published by Portio Research, “Strategies for Creating Best-In-Class Mobile Apps“
Smartphone App Market Monitor
Volume 9 Historical Data Package
 While Apple’s market share of app downloads constantly fell from 81% in 2008 to 39% at the end of 2012, Android’s app downloads increased year over year reaching 42% at the end of 2012.
Both platforms now combine 82% of all app downloads. Will this duopoly last for the next years or will the market see another major change in the market structure as witnessed 5 years ago when the dominance of Symbian started to fade away?
The most likely scenario is that the duopoly will give way to a more heterogeneous mobile operating system landscape. There is evidence that already in 2013 the market will enter a new phase with more relevant mobile app platforms which would be the beginning of the end of the duopoly.
Compared to the world today, where most of the app publishers and developers are concentrating on iOS and Android, the need for adding at least Windows Phone and BlackBerry to the “served platform list” will increase over the next 2 years. If companies want to reach out to the community of early adopters they would even have to include new OS platforms like Ubuntu or Jolla to the list.
Adding HTML5 makes 7 platforms to watch and/or maintain. That is good news for the app development industry and multi-platform tool vendors but starts to become a real management task for companies trying to reach their customers with the help of mobile apps.
By comparing and evaluating different sources, the “Smartphone App Market Monitor” seeks to provide the most comprehensive picture of the app market available. the market monitor is designed to support internal discussions and business decisions, content is presented as much as possible in graphs and tables to make a key tool for any app publisher, app developer, app store and platform owner.
More information about this report and a free sample are available at http://www.giiresearch.com/report/r2g254556-smartphone-app-market-monitor-vol-7.html
Tags: Android, Apple, Best Practices, Blackberry, downloads, mobile apps, reports, Windows phone
Posted in IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Friday, April 12th, 2013
 The convenience and mobility benefits afforded by tablet computers are showing no signs of slowing interest after record unit shipments and revenues were reported by device vendors in 2012.
In 2013, approximately 150 million tablets (up 38% year-over-year) are forecasted to ship globally worth an estimated $64 billion (up 28% from 2012) in potential end-user revenues, according to market intelligence firm ABI Research.
Apple shipped 60 percent of total
So far, Apple has reigned since the introduction of its iPad in 2010, though Samsung and others continue to erode its early success.
About 60% of last year’s tablet shipments used Apple’s iOS operating system software while 37% were based on Google’s Android OS (or development forks of Android, such as found on Amazon’s Kindle Fire slates).
The remaining 3% OS share consisted of Windows (Windows 7, 8, or RT), BlackBerry Tablet OS, and unidentified OS implementations.
Tide turning toward Android
 “The tide is definitely turning toward Android-based tablets, though Apple will not slouch as it feels the competition approaching,” says mobile devices senior practice director Jeff Orr.
“The iPad mini was a timely introduction in 2012, though ABI Research remains cautious about the bottom line impact this is having for Apple.
Here at the TechJournal, we think the late Steve Jobs was wrong when he said tablets needed those 10-inch screens. The 7-inch models are much handier and with the exception of all those regular sized iPad sales, we think they’ll dominate the market.
Personally, while we enjoy our Kindle Fire, we are waiting to see what Google offers in its upcoming new Nexus 7 tablet release expected in July. We suspect Apple will release an updated iPad mini in the not too distant future as well.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: what will make tablets even more useful, salable and dominant is better voice control – something Apple’s Siri and the dictation features on the Nexus are approaching. Better accuracy and true dictation ability are crucial to easy control of these devices without a keyboard.
The first quarter of 2013 should be the first time where production was able to meet market demand and a better sense of how much 9.7” iPad volume has switched to the smaller, lower-cost mini will be understood.”
Samsung could challenge Apple
 iPad 4 The next opportunity is for a vendor challenger to break away from the pack and move closer to Apple. Most would consider Samsung the likely pursuer, though the company was mired in legal proceedings during much of 2012.
The success Samsung has seen during the past year with smartphones, Android OS, and the Galaxy Note II is expected to migrate across to tablets in 2013.
“A well-executed Samsung tablet strategy could double the company’s market share this year,” adds Orr.
Unfortunately, there are few “fast followers” capable of emulating the ownership of technology that Samsung has, suggesting that more innovation is necessary within the Android OS that pulls tablet OEMs closer to Apple.
These “Media Tablets and eReaders” Market Data findings are part of ABI Research’s Media Tablets, Ultrabooks and eReaders Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/service/media-tablets-netbooks-ereaders/).
Tags: 2013, ABIresearch, Android, Apple, iOS, Kindle Fire, Samsung, tablet sales
Posted in Apple, Digital Devices, Google, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Friday, March 15th, 2013
 WeatherBug for Android won the 2013 Appy Award for Best Weather App at an awards ceremony held during the SXSW Interactive Conference in Austin, Texas.
The annual Appy Awards are produced by MediaPost Communications — a media, advertising and marketing news and events publishing company based in New York.
The awards aim to acknowledge extraordinary mobile, social or Web-based applications that are carefully chosen by MediaPost’s Executive Jury among thousands of entrants in all imaginable categories.
WeatherBug for Android previously received the 2011 Appy Award for Best Weather App.
WeatherBug for Android uses real-time neighborhood-level weather information to create better forecasts and provide the fastest and most targeted mobile warnings for where people live and work.
Powered by Earth Networks, the operator of the largest weather monitoring and lightning detection networks, WeatherBug for Android lets users Know Before with live weather data – in addition to hourly and extended forecast information for favorite locations – and customized weather tools to keep mobile users informed and alerted.
According to the Appy jury, WeatherBug for Android “presents just about everything one could want or need to know about current and forecasted weather” while allowing users to “glide easily from a look at the temperature, wind speed and a five-day forecast to a map showing precipitation and on to a deeper dive into what’s to come.”
More than 125,000 reviewers have rated WeatherBug 5 out of 5 stars on Google Play, and over 50,000 have given the app a four-star rating.
WeatherBug for Android (ad supported) is available at no cost on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aws.android.
WeatherBug Elite for Android (without ads) is available for $1.99 on Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aws.android.elite.
Tags: 2013, Android, Appy award, WeaatherBug
Posted in IT, Mobile, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Friday, February 1st, 2013
The iPhone 5 While iPhone users may pay more for their device up front than Android users, they actually pay less for the most popular photo and video apps than Android users, according to the Photo/Video Apps Market Analysis January Report just published by Suite 48 Analytics.
It found that he more popular photo and video apps on iPhone cost on average 38% less than their Android equivalents. A majority of the 50 top ranking photo and video apps on iPhone are priced at the minimum allowed in the iTunes store, $0.99, compared to only 34% of Android apps.
Why?
Suite 48 Analytics president and author of the report, Hans Hartman said it’s because the photo app market is both more mature and more competitive on iPhone than on Android.
There are roughly three times more photo or video apps in the iPhone store (approximately 20,000) than in Google Play (7,500). Also, whereas only 32% of Android apps have been on the market for over a year, the majority of the top ranking iPhone photo and video apps are that old,” he said.
according to the study, 49% of iPhone apps older than one year have in-app purchasing functionality, versus only 29% of those released in the last six months.
Among other noteworthy findings of the study:
- 38% of the top ranking photo apps are photo enhancement apps (such filters or effects apps), followed by “combine” apps (such collage apps), and camera apps.
- Top ranking iPhone photo and video apps have higher user ratings than their Android counterparts.
- Only 10% of the top ranking photo and video apps are video apps (another 13% are apps that can be used both for photos and videos), indicating that still photography continues to dominate the market.
- Only 1% of the top ranking photo and video apps are primarily print product ordering apps such as greeting card or photobook apps; 5% have ordering print products as one of their features.
- 34% of the top grossing photo and video apps on iPad are specially made for iPad, i.e. not offered on iPhone.
- The top 25 free Android photo or video apps in the US generate 63% of their downloads outside the US. The equivalent number on the iPhone is significantly lower, at 51%.
Tags: Android, iPhone, phone/video apps market, Suite 48 Analytics
Posted in IT, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Thursday, January 31st, 2013
 The global installed base of smartphones will total 1.4 billion by the end of 2013, according to the latest forecasts from ABI Research. Of this base, 57% will run on Android and 21% on iOS.
Meanwhile, there will be 268 million tablets in active use, with 62% of them built on iOS and 28% on Android.
The annual growth rate against 2012 will be 44% for smartphones and 125% for tablets. Despite of Apple’s and Google’s strong hold of the market, ABI Research anticipates that the future won’t be quite as duopolistic as it may seem now.
A relative success for Microsoft and Blackberry?
Outside of the leading two operating systems, how will the world look for the two main challengers, Windows Phone and BlackBerry 10?
Senior analyst Aapo Markkanen comments, “2013 should be seen as relative success for both Microsoft and BlackBerry.
For the end of the year, we expect there to be 45 million Windows Phone handsets in use, with BlackBerry 10 holding an installed base of close to 20 million. Microsoft will also have 5.5 million Windows-powered tablets to show for it.”
Importantly, the figures refer to actively used devices, which is what app developers – with certain caveats in mind – should generally treat as an addressable market for their releases.
As Markkanen points out, “The greatest fear for both Microsoft and BlackBerry is that the initial sales of their smartphones will disappoint and thereby kill off the developer interest, which then would effectively close the window of opportunity on further sales success. Our view is that the installed bases of this scale would be large enough to keep these two in the game. It will definitely also help that both firms have actively kept the developers’ interest in mind while designing and rolling out their platforms.”
Tags: ABI Research, Android, Apple, Blackberry, developers, Google, installed base, iOS, smartphones, Windows phone
Posted in Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, December 31st, 2012
 Making New Year’s resolutions? A Durham, NC firm has launched a fee social game called GoalWorthyf or discovering new life goals, earning points for life achievements, and sharing life victories with family and friends.
In addition to the GoalWorthy.com website, the GoalWorthy iPhone and Android apps are available as free downloads for playing GoalWorthy on-the-go.
GoalWorthy uses social media and gamification to create a unique goal-setting experience. Users play by accepting real-life goals from the GoalWorthy community or by contributing their own goals. They can also use GoalWorthy to follow their friends’ goal activity and provide encouragement.
Players determine the worth of a goal
Players determine the worth of a goal using a voting system and as a goal receives more “worthy” votes, the points awarded to players upon achievement of that goal increases as well. The continued earning of points will cause a player’s life to “Level Up.”
The GoalWorthy platform integrates with Facebook, and GoalWorthy users can suggest goals and gift badges in recognition of achievements to their Facebook friends.
“Our society spends a tremendous amount of time and energy on video games. As a gaming enthusiast myself, it would be great if we could channel some of that enthusiasm into achieving real world goals that matter to ourselves and our communities and Level Up our real lives.” says Don Shin , CrossComm CEO.
More fun setting New Year’s resolutions
“Social media is an inherently powerful platform for personal goals as we tend to try harder when others are watching, and support from our community is essential for overcoming life’s challenges. With the New Year approaching, we hope GoalWorthy will help our players have more fun in setting New Year’s resolutions with their friends.”
GoalWorthy, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of CrossComm, Inc., a mobile and web development studio headquartered in downtown Durham, NC. C
CrossComm says it sees the GoalWorthy launch as only the beginning, and plans to significantly enhance the platform in 2013 based upon initial end-user feedback and suggestions.
Tags: Android, app, goals, Goalworthy, iPhone, New Year's resolutions
Posted in IT, Mobile | No Comments »
Friday, December 14th, 2012
 Mobile app developers retain a strong interest in Android and iOS platforms, but they’re not much interested in making new apps for Amazon Kindle tablets or Microsoft’s Surface. They are interested in Google’s Nexus.
That’s what a survey of 3,000 mobile developers by Appcelerator and International Data Corporation found.
The survey findings demonstrate that developers expect mobile to continue to be pervasive both in enterprise investments and consumers’ lives. In addition to the expansion of mobile connected devices, developers predict consumers will dramatically change their shopping behaviors through the availability of mobile commerce sites and mobile payment options.
Blown away by results related to retail
“I am blown away by this quarter’s survey results related to retail,” said Appcelerator CEO Jeff Haynie.
“We’ve known that more and more consumers are augmenting their brick-and-mortar shopping with mobile buying experiences, but this quarter over 90 percent of developers anticipate most retail companies will offer a mobile commerce experience in 2013.”
He added, “These findings stress the ubiquity of mobile and the need for the best user experiences that are available to consumers who want to shop and pay anywhere, anytime, on any device.”
See the full report:
https://pages.appcelerator.com/12.12.12Q42012DeveloperSurvey.html
Tags: Android, Appcelerator, developer survey, Google Nexus, IDC, iOS, Kindle tablets, Microsoft Surface, retail commerce
Posted in Ecommerce, IT, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Thursday, November 29th, 2012
 Yet more data on the Thanksgiving weekend shopping shows that Black Friday should be renamed “Mobile Friday,” as mobile shopping grew twice the rate on that day as it did on Cyber Monday, according to eXelate, a data and analytics engine.
The eXelate data echoes that of others who crunched the Thanksgiving Weekend shopping numbers.
“The tradition of Football on Thanksgiving Day might be replaced by couch-potato shopping if retailers continue promoting holiday shopping earlier,” said Mark S. Zagorski, CEO of eXelate.
“Today’s advanced e-commerce technology enables multitasking, allowing multiscreen consumers to benefit from the best of both worlds – watching the National Football League games on the big screen while simultaneously shopping for advertised products on their digital devices. We believe that 2013 will see an even greater shift toward mobile shopping and that all five days spanning Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday will even out as the notion of the ‘Black Weekend’ becomes a reality.”
What all of this means, of course, is trouble for big box retailers and a continuing trend toward small retail stores. If we were in the retail business, we might consider setting up spaces intentionally designed to promote showrooming of many products consumers could then purchase online.
Other notable highlights from Black Friday / Cyber Monday 2012 include:
- ‘Black Weekend’ – With the onset of holiday shopping starting on Thanksgiving Day, 2012 might be the first year of the ‘Black Weekend’ running from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday. Though Thanksgiving AND Cyber Monday saw the largest increase in shoppers, eXelate believes that shopping during the ‘Black Weekend’ will eventually even out across all five days.
- Cyber Monday retains Title – Though online shopping was up each day during ‘Black Weekend’ vs. 2011, the biggest increase – 29% – occurred on Cyber Monday.
- Online Shopping heads South – Though all regions experienced growth in online shopping, the biggest growth vs. 2011 – 36% – occurred in the South.
- Mobile Shopping Peaked on Black Friday – 52% of iPhone users and 41% of Android users shopped via their mobile devices on Black Friday whereas more Mac users shopped via their laptops on Cyber Monday upon returning to work.
Click here for the complete eXelate ‘Black Weekend’ 2012 Infographic
Tags: Android, Black Friday, cyber Monday, eXelate, iOS, Mobile Friday, mobile shopping
Posted in Analytics, Ecommerce, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Monday, October 1st, 2012
The iPhone 5 The iPhone 5 is praised for speed, call clarity and battery life on Viewpoints a consumer reviews and product rankings website. Some Apple fans even gush over the troubled Apple Maps feature some say was a $30 billion mistake.
Based on consumer sentiment, the iPhone 5 32GB ($299) is rated 94/100, ten points higher than the average smartphone rating.
Speed
Besides a larger screen, the most significant changes from the iPhone 4S are a faster processor and the ability to use advanced cellular networks, 4G LTE.
“I will say the web browsing does seem faster…the speed increase is noticeable.”–Matt
Battery life
Nearly everyone reports the iPhone 5 battery is stronger compared to older iPhones.
“With Wi-Fi turned on, playing games, accessing the web and on a hour-long conference call, the battery never faltered. After 24 hrs and heavy use, more than 60% power still available.” –TerryNakagawa
“…5am until midnight … can’t complain about that.” –Kyrshen
Maps
Apple replaced Google Maps with its own program, which lacks functionality, like display of public transportation, an “epic fail” according to one reviewer. The maps do offer turn-by-turn directions, as well as restaurants as landmarks. Most Viewpoints reviewers aren’t inconvenienced and like the look:
“The new Apple Maps are just stunning, the 3D angle and flying sensation are terrific.”–
GibOlander
“Sure, there’s hubbub around Apple Maps. But think of it this way… the iPhone 5 has more computing power than NASA did when they sent a man to the moon in 1969. The phone is spectacular.” –rma288
Personally, here at the TechJournal, we’re amazed at how Apple fans even gush over features for which the company had to apologize, such Apple Maps. The iPhone 5 may have more processing power than when NASA sent a man to the moon, but just about every electronic device with a silicon brain on the market does.
“I can’t see myself EVER going back to Android!…Gorgeous. Sleek. Modern” –Jnystul
Admittedly, Android has its problems: we recently downloaded a chess board app that is supposed to let you use it to follow a game in a book. We even paid five bucks for it and it doesn’t work. We’ve read that many apps don’t work properly or have fewer features on Android. The folks at Appcelerator tell us that one reason for that is that there are so many flavors of Android.
Viewpoints General Manager Denise Chudy says, “Based on early reviews, people are obviously passionate about the iPhone 5. It’s our hope that those insights help others decide if the iPhone 5 is the right choice for their needs and budget.”
Tags: Android, Apple, Apple Maps epic fail, battery life, call clarity, iPhone 5 reviews, speed, Viewpoint
Posted in Apple, Reviewed, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
 Will Apple’s new iPhone 5 put it back in the driver’s seat in a market increasingly crowded with Android, Microsoft and Amazon devices?
Apple Inc. launched the original iPhone back in 2007 and redefined the very face of mobility devices. Armed with visionary innovation not only on the hardware front but also in enriching the overall user experience, it single-handedly diminished the growth of corporate giants like Research in Motion and Nokia Corp.
Over the years, competing platforms such as Android and Windows Phone have caught up with the features offered on the iOS platform, and have forged ahead in certain areas such as NFC communications based Google wallet, and wireless charging from Nokia.
Currently, Android dominates the global smartphone market and Samsung has overtaken Apple to become the top global smartphone vendor. With the launch of the latest iPhone, Apple intends to reverse the tide and re-emerge as the global smartphone leader.
Expected features in new iPhone
The new iPhone is expected to have a larger screen, support NFC, faster processor, better camera and a smaller dock connector, which is expected to extend to all the forthcoming iOS devices, amongst many other revolutionary features.
Add-ons services that provide a unique value proposition to the Apple ecosystem similar to the Siri launch with the iPhone 4S can also be expected.
According to Pranabesh Nath, Research Manager, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, Apple’s major product in terms of revenue is still the iPhone. “When the iPhone 4S was launched instead of the iPhone 5 the last time around, there was some disappointment in the fan-base.
“This didn’t however stop the record sales frenzy of the iPhone 4S, and we can expect a higher initial sales launch upwards of 1.5 to 2 million in the first 24 hours, compared to 1 million for the 4S in the same time frame. This is expected due to the anticipation that has built up over the last year by die-hard Apple fans, as well as due to a major shift in the platform and the new features it will tout.”
Competitors attempted to steal the limelight
Competitors such as Microsoft, Nokia, Motorola have tried to steal the limelight by launching new products in the weeks before Apple’s launch, but this is expected to be ineffective on the main demographic that are waiting for Apple products.
“While some may argue Apple has not really invented anything, it certainly has refined the experience of using mobile hardware and software and learnt from the mistakes of other manufacturers and for this it needs to be applauded,” said Pranabesh.
“No one can deny that Apple is the only smartphone vendor whose focus transcends beyond the hardware feature set to creating the overall ecosystem. By creating a formidable ecosystem with an abundance of content, services and applications, Apple has won over millions of end users, who just have to have the next Apple product. However, other vendors are also now building their own ecosystem. Proliferation of android apps and emergence of Google Play app storefront threatens to slow down the growth of Apple,” said Abhishek Chauhan, Senior Consultant, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan South Asia & Middle East.
Market now services driven
The market for smartphones has changed from being a device driven market to an application and services driven market, with smartphones being the primary platform to carry proprietary services/applications, with a slightly lesser but increasingly important focus on tablet devices.
Several trends are pointing to this trend, with major platform vendors Microsoft and Google gearing towards gaining more control of their platforms through a strong partnership with Nokia, and the acquisition of Motorola respectively, and launch of similar and competing services on content application services such as music, movies, ebooks, and others.
“This points to a market segmentation where we will have two primary types of players – those that are relying mostly on device sales for revenue, and those that are using device sales as a driver for applications and services. While all players in the market will hope to move to the latter category, Apple as well as other competitors such as Google and Amazon are already there, Samsung is still largely relying on hardware sales,” Pranabesh explained.
He continued, “Over the long term, this may reduce profits for Samsung as devices becomes commodities and the value of a pure-play hardware strategy yields lower revenue. The litigation game to increase market share quicker is unfortunately expected to continue, which is a sign of how competitive the market has become. This is not a very positive trend for consumers as it does limit choice.”
Larger long term threat
The larger threat in the long term, besides Google, is Amazon on the applications services side of things. Amazon already has a huge amount of e-content in the form of ebooks, music and movies. The launch of the Kindle Fire catapulted Amazon as the 4th player (besides Apple, Google and Microsoft) as a platform owner, and this has just received a major boost with the launch of the Kindle Fire HD.
“Depending on how far Amazon wants to take the platform strategy in its search for platform control and profits, we may even see a smartphone from Amazon in the near future as it is the single largest point of content consumption. Microsoft is expected to ramp up its service portfolio once its Windows 8 platform launches, and may be a very powerful contender in the consumer as well as enterprise side,” said Pranabesh.
He added, “In the long term, each competitor is competing for the total user base, and this competition is only expected to increase as revenues from application services become ever important.”
“A lot is riding on the success of the latest iPhone, and there’s no doubt that the new iPhone will indeed be successful. However, the degree of success depends on the uptake of the product much beyond the realms of Apple fans. The ban of Samsung products might be a shot-in-the-arm for the Cupertino headquartered company but the real success depends on the new iPhone being revolutionary rather than simply evolutionary,” Abhishek concluded.
Tags: Android, Apple, Frost & Sulivan, Microsoft, revolutionary iPhone 5 features, shift to apps & services, smartphone market
Posted in Apple, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 11th, 2012
 Mobile phone satisfaction among IT service professionals is heavily driven by the device itself – far more than the wireless provider. At least that’s what OnForceuncovered in its recent survey of nearly 900 IT service professionals.
The study, conducted just last month, found that when it comes to overall satisfaction, AT&T and Verizon are in a dead heat, with Sprint a distant third.
In fact, only 55 percent of Sprint customers surveyed are ‘very satisfied’ overall with their mobile experience, compared to 67 percent of AT&T customers and 66 percent of Verizon customers.
Blend of experiences adds to overall satisfaction
However, a customer’s overall satisfaction comes from a blend of experiences, and deeper analysis uncovered some dramatic differences in satisfaction levels – especially when asked about the service a carrier provides.
While AT&T appears to have a slight advantage in overall satisfaction, AT&T customers are not happy with the service itself. Only 35 percent of AT&T customers reported being ‘very satisfied’ with the service compared to 58 percent for Verizon, 41 percent for T-Mobile and 35 percent for Sprint.
So why are AT&T customers the most satisfied overall, but disappointed in the carrier’s service? It comes down to the battle between iPhone and Android.
iPhone customers more satisfied with 10 of 11 features
iPhone customers, regardless of carrier, were substantially more satisfied in 10 of 11 functionality categories we surveyed. The only area where Android users expressed more satisfaction than iPhone users was on maps and directions – functionality Apple is improving in iOS 6.
Even more telling are the Net Promoter scores OnForce’s survey uncovered, where iOS came in at 69, well ahead of Android at just 27.
“The Net Promoter results are surprising,” said Peter Cannone, CEO of OnForce. “IT field techs tend to be on the leading edge and often prefer open systems like Linux and Android. However, based on our findings, significantly more technicians are likely to recommend iOS to a friend or colleague than Android.”
From this data, it seems reasonable to conclude that AT&T’s early exclusive deal with Apple has had a very positive impact on overall satisfaction ratings, helping to mask AT&T’s weakness in carrier satisfaction. Fully 67 percent of AT&T customers use the iPhone, compared to only 33 percent of Verizon customers.
“Apple’s strength in the mobile market for the IT service community is clearly driven by the experience the iPhone delivers,” said Cannone. “Since AT&T no longer has iPhone exclusivity, the carrier risks losing market share.”
In fact, based on those surveyed, once existing contracts expire, AT&T is likely to lose approximately 10 percent of iPhone users to competitors like Verizon and Sprint.
Apple Leads, But Samsung’s Gaining Momentum
Apple continues to be the most popular mobile device manufacturer for IT service professionals, owning approximately 35 percent of the market, but Samsung (currently at 20 percent) is building momentum.
According to the study, both Apple and Samsung can expect to see a slight increase in market share, rising to 38 and 23 percent, respectively. That said, the recent patent infringement ruling against Samsung could have a significant impact on the company’s growth and adoption.
It’s interesting to note that current Samsung customers had the second lowest overall satisfaction with their mobile phone (BlackBerry was lowest) with only about half of current Samsung users ‘very satisfied.’
In part, Samsung’s growing popularity seems to be due to the sheer number of options Samsung provides. Among survey respondents who listed an exact phone model, there were 32 distinct Samsung phones – far more than any other manufacturer.
“We’ve seen a steady increase in Android usage amongst our community over the past year, but that could change quickly with new hardware and software developments on the horizon for Apple, and the majority of IT service technicians indicating that their next mobile device will be an Apple device,” added Cannone.
Tags: Android, AT&T, carrier, iPhone, mobile device satisfaction, OnForce survey, Sprint, Verizon
Posted in Digital Devices, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
 If you haven’t installed antivirus and malware protection on your mobile devices, you really should do so. We would love to report that things are getting better on the cyber security front, but unfortunately, it’s quite the opposite. McAfee’s Threats Report: Second Quarter 2012, found the largest increase malware samples detected in the last four years.
Not only that, McAfee says that as malware writers master their craft, they are transferring their skills to popular consumer and business platforms.
McAfee Labs detected a 1.5 million increase in malware since Q1 2012, with the sample rate accelerating to 100,000 a day. It also identified new threats such as mobile “drive-by downloads”, the use of Twitter for control of mobile botnets, and the appearance of mobile “ransomware”.
“Over the last quarter we have seen prime examples of malware that impacted consumers, businesses, and critical infrastructure facilities,” said Vincent Weafer, senior vice president of McAfee Labs.
You need to protect all devices
“Attacks that we’ve traditionally seen on PCs are now making their way to other devices. For example, in Q2 we saw Flashback, which targeted Macintosh devices and techniques such as ransomware and drive-by downloads targeting mobile. This report highlights the need for protection on all devices that may be used to access the Internet.”
After the mobile malware explosion in Q1 2012, Android malware shows no signs of slowing down, putting users on high alert.
Virtually all new mobile malware detected in Q2 2012 was directed at the Android platform, and was comprised of SMS-sending malware, mobile botnets, spyware and destructive Trojans, says McAfee.
Ransomware, which cuts off a users access to a computer it infects, requires a ransom to be paid to the malware maker to get it removed, has increased steadily quarter over quarter. If your machine happens to pick up a ransomware infection, you might try this ransomeware removal method.
Botnets reach a 12-month high
Botnets, a network of compromised computers infected with malicious software and used to generate spam, send viruses or cause Web servers to fail, have also taken center stage again this quarter with infections reaching a 12-month high, says McAfee.
New methods for botnet control have also been uncovered, including the use of Twitter for mobile botnet command and control. As such, the attacker can tweet commands with relative anonymity and all infected devices will follow them.
McAfee also reports that thumb drive and password-stealing malware grew significantly. The AutoRun worm showed up in 1.2 million new samples. It spreads via thumb drives.
Websites hosting malware is also increasing. McAfee saw 2.7 new bad URLs per month (or 10,000 new malicious domains every day), 94,2 percent hosting malware, exploits or code intended to hijack computers.
Tags: Android, malware increase, McAfee Threats Report, mobile botnets, protect all devices, Q2 2012, ransomeware removal
Posted in Internet/New Media, IT, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
Advertiser demand for mobile impressions through real-time bidding continues to rise, according to The Mobile Advertising Marketplace Report by MoPub, an ad server for smartphone app publishers.
The report is based on data from MoPub Marketplace, the company’s real-time bidding exchange that connects app publishers with ad buyers in a real-time market.
With both market growth and seasonal patterns beginning to pervade, demand from advertisers and demand side platforms for mobile ad supply has risen from 18% to 37% from January to June. Competitiveness, as reflected by Bid Depth, has also climbed with a 300% increase over the same period.
Highlights from the Q2 Mobile Advertising: Marketplace Report include:
- · Operating System: iOS continues to maintain a healthy price premium over Android of 86%, with a difference of 37 cents in eCPM over Android. However, Android has gained share in Auction Volume from 28% to 39% from April to June, indicating possible future price increases
- · Devices: iPad full-screen landscape ads (1024×768) show the greatest increase in price, finishing at eCPMs of $4.47, up from $3.61 in April
- · Categories: Social networking demonstrates the most pointed growth in Auction Volume. Music and lifestyle apps also showed steady demand growth through Q2, and demonstrated eCPMs of 78 and 79 cents, respectively. Business apps yield the greatest eCPM at 84 cents
- · Geographical: Italy and Korea demonstrate big drops in popularity, while the U.S. remains strong. Spain, Australia, and Canada demonstrate the highest eCPMs
- · Ad Formats: Banner ads, popular among brands and performance advertisers, continue to dominate, with 86% of Auction Volume. Horizontal full screen interstitials, popular in gaming apps, declined in Auction Volume along with gaming volume impression
- · Unique Device Identifier (“UDID”): While impressions with UDID still command a premium over those without the identifier, eCPMs have started to equilibrate at $0.66 and $0.60 respectively versus $0.81 and $0.55 in April
- · Demographic data: Increases in overall Auction Volume with location information rose by 154% and those with gender data rose by 127% month-over-month, providing examples of valuable keyword data being passed from app publishers to advertisers.
The Mobile Advertising: Marketplace Report provides market data from real-time auctions for mobile ad impressions, aggregated from smartphone applications, advertisers and demand side platforms on MoPub Marketplace, MoPub’s mobile ad exchange.
The data reflected here is solely representative of exchange-traded media on MoPub Marketplace and does not include any ad network or ad network mediation data. MoPub does not sell advertising and does not buy inventory. MoPub Marketplace suppliers are smartphone application publishers from the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
The data is representative of 15 billion monthly ad impressions across two-dozen verticals and is aggregated to provide mobile app publishers, advertisers, demand side platforms and industry analysts with market trends and revenue data for their businesses.
To download the full report, please visit: http://www.mopub.com/reports/
Tags: Android, iOS, market share, Mobile advertising market report, MoPub, real-time bidding
Posted in Apple, Google, Marketing, Mobile, smartphones, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2012
 The Galaxy-Note-10.1 comes with a stylus, but not everyone likes the idea. Could including a stylus with the Galaxy Note 10.1 help or hinder its sales prospects?
We frequently use a stylus rather than our fingers on touchscreen devices, including when using our Kindle Fire tablet. Among other things, it reduces the need to clean fingerprints from the screen and makes playing games easier.
But many people don’t like the idea of using a stylus with tablets, according to a new poll.
One of the leading coupon code websites in the US has conducted a survey of 2,003 American adults, aged 21-35, in a bid to discover more about their tablet preferences and whether or not they feel that a stylus would enhance the tablet experience or hinder it, following the announcement that the new Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 will have one. All respondents were tablet owners.
The survey, conducted by www.CouponCodes4u.com, formed part of the research of consumers and their tablet purchases. Respondents were initially asked what type of tablet they currently owned, with 61% saying ‘iPad’, 33% stating they owned an Android tablet, such as a Samsung Galaxy Note, and 4% of respondents saying they had a BlackBerry Playbook.
Respondents were then asked if they used their tablet for personal or work related tasks, or both, to which 51% replied that they used their tablets solely for work, while 38% of respondents said they used their tablet for both work and personal tasks and 11% said they used it solely for personal tasks or pleasure.
Half said they would not buy a tablet with a stylus
When asked whether or not they would buy a tablet if it included a stylus, 53% of respondents said “no”, while 41% said “yes” and 6% said it depended on if it was vital the stylus was to be used.
Respondents who had said that they would not purchase a tablet with an added stylus attachment were asked to explain their reasons why. 67% of respondents that were against the stylus add-on said that the stylus was “completely unnecessary”, while 31% said they made the tablet “look outdated” and 22% feared they would lose a stylus.
You can buy them inexpensively
 Tablet stylus pens are inexpensive. We don’t care, ourselves, how we look using a stylus if it gets the job done. You can buy three on Amazon for less than $1.50, so losing them isn’t much of a problem.
We bought extras and stashed them in our tablet carrying case, the tablet case, and even gave one away. If you do buy them, don’t bother with the more expensive ones. We see no real difference between those and the cheapest.
What is a stylus good for?
Those who said that they were interested in the stylus-add on were asked why, with 67% of respondents claiming that it would be helpful for lengthy typing and 12% liking the idea of being able to imitate pen and paper. 16% felt a stylus would help with Repetitive Strain Injuries associated with tablet devices.
Interestingly, when asked if they would be interested in purchasing the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, only 31% of current Android tablet users said they would.
We’re not particularly interested in it, either. We tested an earlier Galaxy tablet and found the 10-inch size not particularly to our liking. We’re actually more interested in giving Google’s 7-in Nexus a try, although we may wait and see what Apple comes up with in the way of a mini-iPad.
Mark Pearson, chairman of CouponCodes4u.com, said, “Following the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, with added stylus pen, we were intrigued to discover what consumers thought of this latest addition to the tablet market. Not surprisingly, the majority of Americans were turned off by the idea and even went as far as to say they were completely unnecessary.”
Editorial comments by Techjournal Editor Allan Maurer
Tags: 7-inch vs. 10-inch tablets, Android, couponcodes4u.com, Galaxy Note 10.1, Kindle Fire, mini iPad, survey, touchscreen stylus
Posted in Digital Devices, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 21st, 2012
Over two-thirds of smartphone owners reported that they “cannot live without” their smartphones, many use them as their primary content consuming device and they’re showing a willingness to pay for content.
That’s a switch from the Internet world, where publishers have struggled to get users to pay for content.
So says The Online Publishers Association (OPA) new report, “A Portrait of Today’s Smartphone User.”
The OPA collaborated with Frank N. Magid Associates, Inc. to conduct the study, which found that the population of smartphone users is growing rapidly. An estimated 44% of the U.S. internet population, ages 8-64, owns a smartphone (107 million consumers*), up from 31% in 2011 (73 million consumers*) and expected to reach 57% by Q2 2013 (142 million consumers*).
Aside from making phone calls, 93% of smartphone users regularly access content and information above any other activity, followed by accessing the internet (59%) and checking email (58%). The primary types of content smartphone consumers access are weather information (47%), video (31%), local news (29%) and national news (24%).
The world at their fingertips
“Over the past few years, there has been an undeniable shift in the way consumers access content and information as well as stay informed and entertained. Consumers now expect the world at their fingertips anytime, anywhere, and publishers have worked vigorously to optimize their mobile sites and create apps that cater to this demand and behavioral shift,” said Pam Horan, President of the OPA.
“Our study revealed that smartphones are providing a great monetization opportunity for publishers. With over half of smartphone users accessing content on a daily basis, this growing smartphone population is showing a willingness to pay for content. Twenty-four percent of users report that they have purchased any type of content for viewing on their smartphones.”
The study also assessed the attitudes of smartphone users towards mobile advertising and revealed that in the six months prior to the survey, 39% of the all smartphone content consumers have been driven to take action after seeing a smartphone ad.
A more engaged audience
Fifteen percent of all smartphone content consumers have clicked through an advertisement, 12% have used a special offer or coupon and 12% have made a purchase either on a PC or at a store.
According to the study, purchasers of smartphone content were a much more engaged and active audience: 79% have taken action after seeing an ad, 31% have clicked through an ad, 30% have used a special offer or coupon, 27% have made a purchase on a PC and 24% have made a purchase at a store as a direct result of an ad.
Horan said, “Smartphone content purchasers are a substantial subset of the general smartphone population that is showing not only receptiveness to ads but also more positive opinions towards ads than smartphone content consumers as a whole.
“Twenty-nine percent of smartphone content purchasers indicate that smartphone ads are eye-catching, 26% report that ads are relevant and 25% report that ads are unique and interesting, compared to 17%, 15% and 14%, respectively, for all smartphone content consumers,” added Horan.
Other key findings from “A Portrait of Today’s Smartphone User,” include:
- Large smartphone app market: 96% of smartphone content consumers downloaded apps in the past year averaging 36 apps; 14% of all smartphone apps downloaded by those reporting are paid.
- Android leads iOS: Android device penetration (46%) continues to lead iOS penetration (35%), with both platforms growing in share compared to last year; Blackberry and all other platform penetration share (16% and 11%, respectively) declined rapidly compared to last year (25% and 14%, respectively, in 2011).
- Smartphone users pay for content: 24% of smartphone users report that they have purchased content for viewing on their smartphones, with 22% of smartphone content buyers having purchased video, 21% entertainment content, 21% books and 19% weather content.
- Smartphone is the preferred media device for many: 54% of multiple mobile device owners prefer using their smartphone for at least one of a range of activities over PC/laptops and tablets.
- Smartphone users watch plenty of video: 68% of smartphone users who watch video on their smartphones regularly watch short-form news and entertainment videos, which includes news, sports, TV show and weather clips; the next largest smartphone video category is user-generated content (e.g. YouTube), with 57% of those who watch videos on smartphones watching those types of videos.
- Smartphone users are cross-platform consumers: Smartphone users have strong cross-platform tendencies, with 84% identifying themselves as two-screen multitaskers (TV + mobile phone/tablet) and 64% identifying themselves as three-screen multitaskers (TV + PC + mobile phone/tablet).
Frank N. Magid Associates fielded a nationally representative online survey of 2,540 people, ages 8 to 64 years old, between March 19 and March 26, 2012.
To download a copy of the study’s findings, please visit www.online-publishers.org.
Tags: A Portrait of Today's Smartphone User, Android, iOS, mobile advertising, Online Publisher's Association, paying for content, Report, video viewing
Posted in Internet/New Media, Marketing, Mobile, Studies, surveys, reports, Telecommunications | No Comments »
Monday, August 20th, 2012
 While Apple Inc. is trying to subdue Google’s rival Android mobile operating system the company really worrying Google executives is not Apple but Amazon, says The Business Insider.
Why?
Because Google makes most of its money from people searching for potential items or services to buy and many people are starting to bypass the search engine to search directly on Amazon.
According to digital measurement service comScore, for instance, searches on Amazon rose 73 percent in the last year.
As Amazon introduces devices such as the Kindle Fire tablet, more sophisticated Kindle eReaders, and possibly a Kindle phone – all tied directly to Amazon’s store – the situation gets even worse for Google.
So, says Business Insider’s Nicholas Carlson, “Amazon scares Google more than anything Facebook or Apple are up to.”
While Google may indeed see Amazon as a serious competitor, we suspect the firm isn’t crazy about the recent patent victories Apple won for many of the basic features of a mobile smartphone operating system.
In fact, Google’s Motorola Mobility unit has has filed a patent infringement complaint against a number of iPhone features, including its Siri voice control.
Google acquired Motorola Mobility’s portfolio of thousands of patents in May amid speculation it would use them to battle Apple and its iPhone.
The patent infringement case seeks a ban on U.S. imports of iPhones, iPads and Mac computers. Apple maintains that phones using Google’s Android operating system infringe on its iPhone patents. What a merry-go-round
What do you think? Will Google and Apple eventually end up in a stalemate in the smartphone patent wars?
Is the search giant in danger of losing ground to Amazon?
–Allan Maurer
Tags: Amazon, Android, Google, iPhone, patent suits, product searches
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Internet/New Media, Legal, smartphones | No Comments »
Monday, August 20th, 2012
Ninety-two percent of the Top 100 paid Apple iOS apps and 100 percent of Top 100 paid Android apps have been hacked, according to new research contained in the State of Security in the App Economy: Mobile Apps under Attack report.
The report, which reveals the widespread prevalence of “cracked” mobile apps and the financial impact befalling the multi-billion dollar App Economy due to compromised brands, lost revenues, intellectual property (IP) theft, and piracy, was released today byArxan Technologies.
The proliferation of mobile devices has created an app-centric global marketplace, ushering in the App Economy that is driving new business models and revenue streams across all industries.
In its State of Security in the App Economy report, Arxan set out to analyze the extent of malicious mobile app hacking by researching hacked versions of top Apple iOS and Android apps from third-party sites outside of the Apple App Store and Google Play marketplaces.
The sample of 230 top apps included the top 100 paid Apple iOS and top 100 paid Android apps as well as 15 highly popular free apps for iOS and the same 15 free apps for Android.
“We envision a thriving App Economy with freedom and confidence to innovate and distribute new apps. However, this potential is being threatened by hackers, and most enterprises, security teams, and app developers are not prepared for these attacks,” said Jukka Alanen, vice president at Arxan and the lead author of the new study.
“The integrity of mobile apps can be easily compromised through new tampering/reverse-engineering attack vectors. The traditional approaches to application security such as secure software development practices and vulnerability scanning cannot address the new hacking patterns that we identified. The findings call for new approaches for mobile app owners to build protections directly inside their apps to withstand these new attacks.”
Key findings of the report reveal:
- More than 90% of top 100 paid mobile apps have been hacked: 92% of top paid iOS apps and 100% of top paid Android apps were found to have been hacked.
- Free apps are not immune from hackers: 40% of popular free iOS apps and 80 percent of the same Android apps were found to have been hacked.
- Hacking is pervasive across all categories of mobile apps: Hacked versions of mobile apps were found across all key industries such as games, business, productivity, financial services, social networking, entertainment, communication, and healthcare.
- Mobile apps are subject to many diverse types of hacks and tampering attacks, such as disabled or circumvented security, unlocked or modified features, free pirated copies, ad-removed versions, source code/IP theft, and illegal malware-infested versions.
- The Anatomy of an App Hack entails three steps: Define the exploit and attack targets; reverse-engineer the code; and tamper with the code; this process is made easy with widely available free or low-cost hacking tools.
- Financial risks from hacking are increasing rapidly: Mobile app hacking is becoming a major economic issue with consumer and enterprise mobile app revenues growing to more than $6o billion by 2016 and mobile payments volume exceeding $1 trillion (based on data from KPMG, ABI Research, and TechNavio).
Tags: Android, Apple iOS, Arxan Technologies, mobile apps hacked, Report, State of Security in the App Economy: Mobile Apps under Attack
Posted in Apple, Google, IT, Security, Studies, surveys, reports | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 7th, 2012
The Apple and Android operating systems continue to rule the mobile universe with others such as RIM, Windows and Symbian managing less than 3 percent market share. Kindle Fire sales leveled off since its introduction and Apple’s iPad rules the tablet market.
And adding third party data targeting to mobile ad campaigns results in significant uplift in click-through rates (CTR), ROI and other performance metrics, all according to the newly released July MobileSTAT, from Jumptap, a targeted mobile advertising firm.
In a study comparing Q2 vertical campaigns with third party data against campaigns in the same time period without added third party data, Jumptap found that mobile campaigns using third party data achieved a double-digit CTR uplift.
Advertisers are tuning in to those high success rates with increasing mobile media spending. As of July, greater than 50 percent of Jumptap campaigns included data targeting, a 500 percent increase since January.
Of course, in terms of third party apps, Jumptap has a direct interest.
“Since Jumptap introduced third party data partnerships into mobile just over a year ago, more and more of our current and new advertisers have leveraged the offerings to drive engagement,” said Paran Johar, Chief Marketing Officer, Jumptap.
“Campaigns with third party data targeting see higher click-through rates (CTR) and ROI regardless of advertising category.”
Additional July MobileSTAT Findings:
- Android, iOS Still Rule Smartphone OS Market Share: July data from the Jumptap network show that Android and iOS make up 92 percent of the mobile OS market.
- Meanwhile, RIM continues to lose ground, shrinking to a six percent share. Symbian and Windows make up less than three percent of the market share, supporting previous Jumptap analysis that Windows will have a tough time competing with iOS and Android.
- iPad Continues Its Reign Over Tablet Landscape: On the Jumptap network, Apple’s iPad continues to hold the majority of the tablet market share at 59 percent, while Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Samsung’s Galaxy Tab follow further behind with 25 percent and 10 percent market share, respectively.
- The growth of Amazon’s Kindle Fire has leveled off since its November 2011 release and has dropped in market share since January, despite maintaining the number two spot on the Jumptap network. If rumors of new Amazon Kindles and Apple iPads are true, expect to see more change in the flourishing tablet market.
- CPG and Auto Top Vertical in Mobile Ad Spend: Based on Q1 and Q2 data, both the Auto and Consumer Product Goods (CPG) industries are the highest spenders on the Jumptap network. Other top spending verticals include Consumer Electronics, Finance, QSR, Retail and Travel.
- iPod Touch User Vs. iPhone User: Two Apple Devices, Two Different Audiences: Based on Jumptap network data, the characteristics of iPod Touch users are quite different than those of iPhone users. iPod Touch users tend to skew female (60 percent) and be 24 years old or younger (53 percent), while iPhone users are more likely to be male (54 percent) and older than 24 (59 percent).
- Both iPod Touch and iPhone users count social networking and gaming as top mobile functions; however, iPod Touch users are more likely to text while iPhone users are more likely to visit Entertainment and News mobile sites and apps. Advertisers looking to target a younger, social audience may find success advertising on the iPhone Touch.
MobileSTAT (Simple Targeting & Audience Trends) is a monthly glance into targeting and audience trends in mobile advertising through Jumptap’s network of over 20 billion impressions, 107 million U.S. users and 25,000 apps and websites. To download the full Jumptap MobileSTAT, click here.
Tags: Android, Apple iOS, iPad rules, iPod Touch, July MobileSTAT, Jumptap, Kindle Fire, market share, mobile ad spend, RIM, Symbian, third party data
Posted in Amazon, Apple, Digital Devices, Internet/New Media, smartphones, social media, Startups, Studies, surveys, reports, Tech life/Culture | No Comments »
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