Smartphones, specifically iPhones and Android phones are on the march - and it appears that they had a wildly successful holiday shopping period:
It’s been announced by mobile analytics firm Flurry that more than one billion mobile applications were downloaded during the week between Christmas day and New Years day, shattering the one-week record for mobile app downloads by a long shot.
Read more at Mobile Marketing Watch.
Some new data out from Nielsen shows just how far smartphone adoption has gone among younger mobile phone owners (via MMW):
62 percent of mobile adults aged 25-34 report owning smartphones. And among those 18-24 and 35-44 years old the smartphone penetration rate is hovering near 54 percent.
And what mobile phones are they using? Androids and iPhones.
Overall, smartphone adoption is hovering around 43%. What does that mean for businesses? Text message marketing is still the only way to market to all mobile phone owners.
There's been a ton of coverage about today's announcement from Apple of the iPhone 4S - and the lack of an announcement of an iPhone 5. We think most (but not all) commentators aren't paying enough attention to the now free iPhone 3GS (with contract). Think about how many people have Android phone not because they are really interested in an Android phone, but because every carrier has a basket full of free Android phones. Now, when someone walks into an AT&T, Verizon and Sprint store (pending confirm on Sprint 3Gs availability) and they can get a free iPhone 3GS. Yes, it isn't one of the plethora of '4G' questionable battery life Android devices and it is an older product - but we wonder how many consumers will take a free, older iPhone 3GS that runs iOS5 over a free Android running who knows what version of Android.
And we're just talking about the United States.
It's been over 24 hours since Google dropped the bombshell that they were acquiring Motorola - for patents and possibly more - all to 'protect Android.' Let's take a look at some astute analysis:
There’s no denying that Google’s maneuver this morning to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion in cash is remarkable. Everyone is talking about every possible angle of the deal, as they should. The summertime is usually the doldrums when it comes to tech news. Not this year. Google is pulling off an acquisition that is larger than any that Microsoft, Apple, or any of their other main competitors ever have. Larry Page, wartime CEO. Larry Page, maverick.
As the resident Apple enthusiast around these parts, many of you want my take on this — and many of you probably don’t want my take on this, but will end up reading it twice as much as those who do. But don’t worry, I’m not going to go all Dan Lyons and immediately run my mouth without thinking. I actually took the entire day to think about this, read over the insane amount of coverage (though I didn’t get through even half of it), and form some thoughts.
But my main thought is the same as my initial one: this is either the smartest thing Google has ever done, or the dumbest. There is no in-between.
Dan Fromer at his new blog, SplatF has put together a list of winners and losers.
FOSS Patents examines the extremely high breakup fee if the deal doesn't get approved:
After a first set of quick thoughts, I want to do a follow-up because shortly after that post I saw a Bloomberg report on the reverse break-up fee Google and Motorola Mobility (MMI) agreed upon: it's a whopping, mindboggling $2.5 billion that Google has to pay to MMI if the deal falls through. I'm still researching this but it seems that this is, in relative terms, the highest-ever break-up fee agreed upon in this industry.
"On an equity value basis, Google’s fee amounts to 20 percent, compared with the 4.2 percent median since last year", reports Bloomberg. The same source that told Bloomberg the $2.5 billion figure claims that MMI "would pay a $375 million breakup fee if it decides not to sell to Google".
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I listened to the executives on today's conference call on the deal and they exuded confidence. But if they were really so sure that regulatory approval is a slam dunk, there wouldn't be a break-up fee that is completely out of the ordinary. Money speaks louder than words in a case like this.
I was previously skeptical that this deal is really about "protecting" Android from threats, and I monitor Apple's and Microsoft's disputes with MMI quite closely. Now that I see the break-up fee and have thought some more about the overall situation, I've reached the point at which I simply don't buy the "protection" theory anymore.
And lastly, poor RIM via Bloomberg:
Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM), maker of the BlackBerry smartphone and PlayBook tablet computer, may have the most to lose from Google Inc. (GOOG)’s deal to acquire Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc.
Google’s proposed $12.5 billion acquisition would leave RIM a smaller player relative to rivals, which may force it to strike an alliance with another company or sell itself to remain competitive, said Will Stofega, a program director at consultant IDC. With Google’s cash and software expertise, Motorola may present a direct challenge to RIM in its traditional stronghold, the corporate market, he said.
“Now that Motorola has a big war chest behind them, Research In Motion has got to watch out,” Stofega said in an interview.
Already losing market share in smartphones, RIM is seeing several competitors beyond Google and Motorola gain scale and expertise. In February, mobile-phone maker Nokia Oyj struck a strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), the world’s largest software maker. Last year, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest computer company, bought handset maker Palm Inc. Apple Inc. (AAPL), maker of the iPhone, briefly became the world’s most valuable company last week, though it hasn’t made major acquisitions.
RIM may need more size and software expertise to compete, saidChetan Sharma, an independent wireless analyst. The Waterloo, Ontario-based maker of BlackBerrys may have to sell to a company such as Hewlett-Packard, Dell Inc. (DELL), Samsung Electronics Co. or HTC Corp. (2498), he said.
“They are in no man’s land at this point,” Sharma said in an interview.
Maybe not magic, but after playing with Visual Lens on an iPhone we're absolutely floored (which seems to be the common reaction):
If you haven’t seen it already, Word Lens is a new iPhone app that instantly translates Spanish text into English and vice versa, via the medium of augmented reality.
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When I first wrote about Word Lens after it had been released on Friday by Quest Visual, the above YouTube clip had attracted just over 7,000 hits. Three days later more than 2.1 million people have seen it.
The app is getting plenty of attention from the press, and for good reason. It’s fantastically cool, and it’s a good illustration of the way augmented reality is starting to move away from marketing gimmick to useful tool.
Head over to Forbes to watch the video now, and if you have an iPhone, you probably want to download the app.
As TechCrunch notes, it took 16 months, but a Google Voice app has finally made its way to the iPhone:
The official Google Voice for the iPhone is here. And it’s wonderful. Yes, it was even worth that insane wait.
So what's so great about Google Voice?
If you’ve used Google Voice on your computer or other devices, the iPhone version should be familiar to you. However, unlike the Android version, Google Voice cannot totally take over the calling capabilities on the iPhone. All that means is that you have to open the app instead of your regular iPhone Phone app to use it.
But you can make calls right from the app. You dial a number and it automatically takes you to the iPhone’s Phone app where it places the call from your Google Voice number by way of Google’s backend system.
When you receive a call to your Google Voice number, it will come in to your regular Phone app as well, just as happens now with call forwarding.
You can also send and receive texts from the app. And you can listen to your Google Voice voicemails — and yes, all of them are transcribed for you to read in the app. And all of this works with the iPhone’s Push Notification system.
And unlike the HTML5 version, the native app can access your phone’s contact list. This make it easy to place calls and set up Quick Dial Contacts.
When it comes to operating systems, Android has the lead, but among all manufacturers of smartphones, Apple took the crown in the third quarter:
The Canalys numbers are out, and with Android coming off an 886 percent jump reported at the end of the second quarter we were expecting something big. So, here it is: Android is up 1,309 percent worldwide from this time last year, taking over 43.6 percent of the US smartphone market in the third quarter. In terms of mobile operating systems that makes it the dominant player in America, but with Apple capturing 26.2 percent it now jumps into the lead when it comes to hardware, beating out RIM's 24.2 percent.
Yesterday Microsoft debuted Windows Phone 7, their attempt to get back in the smartphone race. They unveiled a slick looking operating system, along with a slew of devices. We've put together some early coverage from around the web:
Is there a consensus yet? It would seem that the Windows Phone 7 phones - yes, we know how that sounds - probably won't be challenging the iPhone anytime soon. Android however, which has been surging as of late, may have a serious competitor on its hands.
When Verizion licensed the Droid name from Lucas Films for their take on Android we thought that was that. We were mistaken:
Star Wars fan? Android fan? Verizon Wireless customer? September 29th at midnight should go down in history for you then. Not only is that when Motorola’s DROID R2D2 limited edition device goes on sale at select Verizon Wireless stores across the country, but it’s also looking to be quite an event. We have been just sent a couple images from one of the participating stores, a store called Vista Ridge in Lewisville, Texas, and we also have some info on what is exactly is happening for the launch — it’s pretty crazy. Apparently, the participating stores will be giving away 5 Motorola R2D2 units, there will be actual “Stormtroopers” at the store (employees dressed up as Stormtroopers), video gaming, a live DJ and more. Stores are getting approximately 200 units and stock will not be replenished.
Sure it's just an MVNO (mobile virtual network operator), which means that Wal-Mart is essentially reselling T-Mobile's service, but this is still major news:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it is introducing the first cell phone plan that uses the chain's own branding, further demonstrating its clout in getting special deals from wireless carriers.
The Wal-Mart Family Mobile service will run on T-Mobile USA's network. Unlimited calling and texting will cost $45 per month for the first line and $25 for each additional line for the family. The service will be offered starting next week in most of its stores across the nation.
