Nielsen: Android's growth curve flattened in 2011 while the iPhone's got a boost

The effect of the long-awaited launch of an iPhone for Verizon, or a bump from the iPad 2?

Click to enlarge. Source: Nielsen

During the rapid ascent of Google (GOOG) Android phones in 2010 it was never clear how much their popularity was due to the fact that Apple's (AAPL) iPhone was available in the U.S. on only one carrier -- AT&T (T) -- with somewhat spotty coverage.

The test was supposed to come in February, when Apple finally released an iPhone for Verizon (VZ).

Four months later, the results are in. Although Android is still the most popular choice among recent smartphone purchasers, a Nielsen survey released Thursday clearly shows a leveling off of Android's growth rate and a corresponding acceleration for the iPhone.

"Apple," according to Nielsen, "is now driving smartphone growth."

It's not at all certain how much of this is due to the Verizon iPhone and how much to Apple's increasingly popular iOS ecosystem, which got a boost from the launch of the iPad 2 in March.

But the damage for Android's competitors is done. In a smartphone market that is rapidly expanding, Android had a 38% share of the U.S. market in Nielsen's March-to-May survey, up two percentage points from February-April. Apple's share was up one point to 27%, and Research in Motion's (RIMM) was down two points to 21%.

According to Nielsen, 38% of Americans now own smartphones, and 55% of those who purchased a new handset in the past three months bought a smartphone (rather than a dumb one), up from 34% a year ago. See pie charts below.

Source: Nielsen

Filed under: Apple 2.0

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Dong Kuk Park

TouchPad is no slam-dunk for HP

Hewlett-Packard's new tablet may offer competition for Android, but it can't compete with Apple's iPad on any level.

FORTUNE -- Starting Friday, there will be yet another tablet on the market—the TouchPad from Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). The new gadget is the hardware maker's attempt at taking on Apple's (AAPL) iPad and one of the first in a long line of upcoming WebOS devices.

But while the TouchPad's WebOS operating system—which HP inherited from its acquisition of Palm back in 2010—is sleek and even does a few things better than the iPad, it's unlikely to be a slam-dunk for HP. Why? Consumers don't necessarily want tablets—they want iPads.

HP can't compete with Apple on coolness (even by getting Russell Brand to endorse the TouchPad). And it isn't competing with Apple on price (like the iPad 2, the TouchPad starts at $500). It also can't compete with Apple's extensive App Store—at launch, the TouchPad's App Catalog will offer just 300 applications. iPad users, meanwhile, have access to over 100,000 apps.

Despite Apple's notorious micromanagement of its third-party apps, developers have flocked to create games, productivity tools and other applications for iOS phones and tablets. Lately, they've also raced to develop apps for Google's (GOOG) Android-running devices. That's because developers want to develop for platforms that consumers want to use. With over 25 million iPads sold to date, creating apps for Apple's tablet has its obvious advantages—a huge and growing audience ready to download those tiny, colorful icons onto their touchscreen device. HP says the number of apps available on the TouchPad is "continuing to change daily."

At a recent meeting with company executives, they also stressed that the tablet's App Catalog is about quality, not just quantity. To that end, HP is launching Pivot, which it calls "an entertaining and informative editorial resource for discovering webOS applications for the HP TouchPad." In other words, it's sort of like a digital magazine that highlights certain apps for users. As the number of applications in Apple's App Store and the Android Market grows, finding the right one can be tricky.

According to a recent report from technology research firm Canalys, these large app inventories can present overwhelming choices for consumers. "A consumer searching for a weather app in the Android Market, for example, will find numerous possibilities, many of which have not yet received any user ratings or reviews," say the report's authors. Of course, people do want to find the apps they're looking for.

While HP's TouchPad will offer some popular applications like Facebook and Kindle, it's lacking many others. Of course, there are some die-hard Palm fans (yes, I'm talking about you former Treo addicts out there) who have been itching for Palm's comeback and might be willing to shell out $500 for a TouchPad instead of an iPad, despite its lack of applications. And while reviews of the TouchPad are a mixed bag, many in the tech media have showered praises on WebOS, the operating system that powers it.

WebOS does do a lot of things right. For starters, it's better at multitasking than the iPad, and allows users to keep multiple applications open at the same time. It also has a feature called Synergy, which consolidates data from multiple contacts lists—like Facebook and Skype—into one master address book (it also consolidates different versions of online calendars and photos from various sharing services).

But will that be enough to lure significant numbers of consumers and developers to the TouchPad? Doubtful. HP is late to the tablet game, and the mass market doesn't necessarily care about new operating system features, it cares about what's cool. Despite the proliferation of other devices, Apple still owns the tablet market.

But HP has big plans for WebOS that reach far beyond the tablet market. That's why it shelled out $1.2 billion for Palm, creator of WebOS, last year. HP has already said WebOS will run on multiple devices—from printers to PCs. So while the TouchPad isn't a slam-dunk for the company, WebOS might still end up being a formidable competitor to Apple's iOS and Google's Android.

Filed under: Uncategorized

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Dong Kuk Park

Apple iPad apps: 100,000+. Android tablet apps: 1,300+

It took the iPhone App Store 482 days to hit six figures. The iPad did it in about 450.

A sampling of the iPad apps Apple says are "hot"

Sometime this week, the number of apps written or adapted for Apple's (AAPL) iPad hit the 100,000 mark.

It's hard to say exactly when. On Thursday afternoon, MacStories' Frederico Viticci noticed that the number posted on the iPad's App Store (under Featured/Release Date) had rolled over to 100,161.

That's curious because when we checked on Sunday with 148 Apps' Jeff Scott, who keeps his own count, he already had a total of 102,994. Meanwhile, AppShopper, which uses a different counting algorithm, is reporting a number that's 6,005 higher than Apple's.

No matter. It's a lot of apps. At least 35,000 more than the 65,000 Steve Jobs bragged about at the end of March.

And how are the iPad's competitors doing? That's even harder to say. A search of Google's (GOOG) Android Market Thursday turned up about 1,200 free Android tablet apps and 145 paid, or roughly 1/75th as many as the iPad.

Thanks to TNW for doing the iPhone App Store comparison.

Filed under: Apple 2.0

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Dong Kuk Park

Turn Google+ Into Facebook

The social networking wars have dialed it up to 11 this week, with Google unleashing its highly anticipated (and highly leaked) Google+ social initiative upon the world on Tuesday — to not a bad response, to be honest. So it's not that surprising that today Facebook countered the + hubbub with its own "we've got something awesome" unveiling planned for next week. You crazy kids!

The resemblance between the two social networks is uncanny — my Tweet-length opinion is that Google+ is like Facebook with a more usable, streamlined Photos and Groups interface (and that might be enough to win). Only time will tell.

In the meantime, for those of you who have the decidedly middle class problem of social network fatigue, there is a solution. Thanks to the unlimited creativity of  humans, you can now actually make your Google+ look like Facebook, with the Google+ : Facebook Stylish extension or this CSS code.

I love this.

CrunchBase Information

Google+

Information provided by CrunchBase

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Dong Kuk Park

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/chromebook-boards-virgin-america-checks-in-at-ace-hotel-for-sum/

Chromebook boards Virgin America, checks-in at Ace Hotel for summer vacation

By Joseph Volpe
Jul 1, 2011 7:10AM

How do you solve a consumer education problem like the Chromebook? You put it into the idle hands of urbanite travelers -- that's how. The fast-booting neither laptop, nor netbook entity with negligible storage and not-yet-defined purpose will find a temporary summer home at selectVirgin America gates and New York's Ace Hotel starting Friday. Jet-setters flying between San Francisco and either Chicago O'Hare, Dallas / Fort Worth, or Boston Logan can get an on-the-fly, marketing-fortified crash course in Chrome OScomputing by visiting special 'Chrome zones' located near departure gates. Virgin's also thrown in some free in-flight WiFi to ensure you test drive Google'sCloud-dependent lap-dweller . And if you're one of the millions of tourists planning on seeing the Big Apple in all its humid splendor, the Ace Hotel's got an on-the-house stash that lobby lizards can use, but only guests can take out. But the promotional push doesn't just stop there: all partners involved have bundled specialized travel-planning apps into the experience -- sure to be ripe with cooler-than-thou recommendations. It's a noble attempt by our search giant overlord to make a name for its portable computing entrant, and a helpful distraction from that armrest hog next to you.

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VIRGIN AMERICA AND GOOGLE TEAM UP TO KEEP TRAVELERS CONNECTED WITH CHROMEBOOKS @ 35,000 FEET
Guests Get Exclusive Chance to 'Test Fly' New Chromebooks on Select Virgin America Flights - Along with Free WiFi in the Skies Virgin and Google Team Up to Create New 'Virgin America Traveler' App for Connected Flyers

San Francisco - June 30, 2011 - Virgin America, the airline that is reinventing domestic flying, today announces that it is teaming up with Google Inc. to offer guests the opportunity to "test-fly" Google's new Chromebook for free onboard their flight and at select airport gates. From July 1-September 30, 2011, Virgin America flyers will have the exclusive chance to check out a Chromebook at their departure airport gate and take the new notebook computer out for a spin onboard select Virgin America flights. In addition, flyers who check out a Chromebook will receive a free WiFi session onboard Virgin America via the Gogo(R) network. Virgin America was the first airline to offer fleetwide WiFi, so Chromebook users on all Virgin America flights can open their browser and surf the web for free at 35,000 feet. With an eight-second boot time, the available Chromebooks are built for today's connected traveler.

Virgin America Teams Up With Google

Caption: Starting July 1st through September 30th, guests onboard select Virgin America routes will have the exclusive chance to check out a Chromebook at their departure airport gate and take the new notebook computer out for a spin onboard.

"Our goal has always been to use the best in technology to reinvent the travel experience - and help bring some fun back to flying," said Porter Gale, Vice President of Marketing for Virgin America. "As another California company known for connecting people in new ways, Google has been a key partner with us from our very first flights in 2007 - powering the interactive Google maps onboard our Red entertainment platform. We're delighted to team up with Google yet again in a way that keeps our guests entertained and connected - in both the physical and virtual clouds."

Virgin America and Ace Hotel are also launching a "Get Away with a Chromebook" sweepstakes today via Facebook for one lucky winner to score a free Chromebook and fly with a guest to New York for a two-night stay at The Ace Hotel in the heart of Midtown Manhattan. The winner will also receive a 30-day pass to use Aircell Gogo WiFi Internet service onboard Virgin America. For details and sweepstakes rules go to www.facebook.com/VirginAmerica?sk=app_121121694568521.

Virgin America guests traveling between the airline's sleek and sustainable new home at San Francisco International Airport's (SFO) Terminal 2 and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) or Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) will see Google "Chrome Zone" lounges at their gates starting this week, where they can learn more about the Chromebook and check one out for their flight. Travelers can simply check in at their departure gate, swipe their credit card (for deposit purposes) and receive a Chromebook for use on their flights between SFO and DFW, ORD or BOS. The Chromebooks can be returned at the guest's arriving gate. The Chrome Zone service is offered for free for all Virgin America flyers traveling between SFO and the above airports. Google Chrome Staff will also be on hand at the participating Virgin America gates to assist guests. In addition to being exclusively available on Virgin America, the new Chromebooks are also now available for purchase on Amazon.com and BestBuy.com. For more on the promotion: www.virginamerica.com/vx/chromezone

"Designed for people who live on the web and are on the go, the speed, simplicity and security of Chromebooks are an ideal choice for today's travelers," said Caesar Sengupta, Director of Chrome OS at Google. "We're pleased to partner once again with Virgin America to keep travelers connected and productive no matter where they are - even at 35,000 feet."

In addition, Google and Virgin America are jointly developing a "Virgin America Traveler" Chrome app which will be made available in July at the Chrome Web Store. The free app will help travelers gear up and get inspired for upcoming trips by allowing users to select their packing essentials on the fly and even brainstorm their next trip using UrbanDaddy's insider recommendations on where to go, what to see and what to do in select Virgin America cities. UrbanDaddy's deep and meticulously updated archives of local content comprise one of the most clever and well-curated collections of real-time city guides available. The app will also generate a custom packing list of "must-bring" essentials that no traveler should forget to carry-on as they head out to a specific destination. The app's Trip Board will feature photos from Virgin America's destinations to inspire a traveler's next jaunt. Virgin America Traveler apps users will be able to then post, tweet and share their packing lists or Trip Boards with their friends - even at 35,000 feet.

"The opportunity to partner with Virgin America as their content partner makes a ton of sense for us as we're big believers that UrbanDaddy and Virgin America view the world - and the city - in much of the same way and through a very similar lens." said Lance Broumand CEO of UrbanDaddy.

This is not the first time that Google and the Silicon Valley-based Virgin America have teamed up. Known for innovation, entrepreneurialism and for connecting people in new ways, Virgin America and Google have come together for two consecutive years to give Virgin America flyers the gift of in-flight connection during the holiday travel season. In the fall of 2010, Virgin America also moved its operating systems into the "cloud" with Google Apps becoming the award-winning airline's webmail provider for a network of over 2000 teammates across North America. In June 2009, the airline teamed up with Google for the first-ever live in-flight web-based scavenger hunt. In 2008, Virgin America launched Gogo In-flight Internet on its first flight with a first ever "air-to-ground" video stream to YouTube Live - YouTube's first official real-world user event.

Since its 2007 launch, Virgin America has gained a loyal following of business and leisure flyers and has swept the major reader-based travel awards, including "Best Domestic Airline" in both Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards and Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards. Virgin America offers fleetwide WiFi, mood-lit cabins, standard power outlets near every seat and the Red[TM] in-flight entertainment system - the most advanced personal touch-screen entertainment platform in the skies. The Red platform offers 700+ hours of entertainment content, including the ability to build playlists from over 3,000 MP3s, 30 on-demand films, live TV, interactive Google Maps, videogames, seat-to-seat chat, a first-of-its-kind digital Shop section and an on-demand menu - so guests can order a cocktail or meal from their seatback any time during a flight.

Source: Google Chrome Blog

Dong Kuk Park

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/google-says-less-is-more-gmail-and-google-calendar-to-sport-a-m/

Google says less is more: Gmail and Google Calendar to sport a more spartan look

By Michael Gorman
Jul 1, 2011 10:50AM

Does Gmail's current look seem chaotic and claustrophobic to you? Are you overwhelmed by the myriad mailing options, labels, and chat windows? We aren't either, but apparently Google sees things differently, and has an interface overhaul planned that'll simplify things in your webmail world. It looks like the spacious and simple design language fromGoogle + will carry over to all the web services proffered by the gang in Mountain View. For now, it's available as a couple of simplistic skins to be tried on in the Themes tab of your Gmail settings, with more permanent changes rolling out in the coming months. Google Calendar is slated for a stripped-down wardrobe in the next few days as well, with El Goog promising more cosmetic and functional changes for both services later this summer. In the meantime, the company's looking for feedback on its new interface so it can fix any issues folks find. We want your opinions, too, so tell us what you think of Google's new threads in the comments below.

Source: Gmail Blog, Google Apps What's New?, Google Calendar Help

Dong Kuk Park

http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/30/edge-hd2-mini-pc-is-an-htpc-that-hides-behind-your-tv/

Edge HD2 Mini PC is an HTPC that hides behind your TV

By Sean Buckley
Jul 1, 2011 11:40AM

When it comes to home theater PCs, size matters -- and it doesn't get too much smaller than Sapphire's original Edge HD mini PC, pictured above. In fact, Sapphire saw no reason to fiddle with the Edge's diminutive form factor when designing the HD2, and instead poured itself into improving the HTPC's specs. Not only is the updated mini-rig small enough to mount behind your HDTV, but it also packs a 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Atom, 2GB RAM, and a 320GB hard drive. All this (and 1080p VGA / HDMI out, of course) at 30W, "20 times less power than a typical desktop PC," according to Sapphire. No word on price (or pics, for that matter), but feel free to jump past the break for an official press release with full specifications.

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SAPPHIRE Announces EDGE-HD2 Mini PC

Building on the success of its first Mini PC, hailed as the smallest PC in the world, SAPPHIRE Technology - the world leading manufacturer and supplier of PC graphics cards and mainboards has just introduced a new model - the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2. The SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 shares the same slim, stylish outline as the earlier model but delivers slightly higher performance and is now also available with a pre-loaded operating system. At less than half a litre in volume, it is slimmer and smaller than most wireless access points - in fact around the size of a paperback book! Its stylish design and simple pedestal mount make it equally at home next to a TV or business monitor whilst occupying the minimum of desk or shelf space.

Responding to customer demand, the new SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 is available optionally pre-loaded with Windows 7 Ultimate Edition, and this version is available with a VESA compatible mount to allow it to be unobtrusively fitted behind a monitor or TV.

Despite its small size, the SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 is a fully featured PC for home, education or business use. Specifications include a second generation 1.8GHz dual core processor, 2GB of DDR3 memory, a 320GB hard drive and built in wireless connectivity as well as high speed LAN port and four USB ports. It provides high resolution graphics output with a full HD (1920x1080) HDMI interface (with an HDMI cable and HDMI-DVI adapter also supplied) as well as a VGA monitor output and it has built-in audio with mic-in and line-out sockets. All of this makes it more than capable of handling day to day Office tasks as well as streaming video or browsing the Internet.

The SAPPHIRE Mini PC family is a top scorer in power efficiency. Consuming less than 30W even under load, the members of the SAPPHIRE Mini PC family use around 10 times less power than a typical desktop PC - and less than most notebooks - making it one of the Greenest PC solutions available. Power and space savings alone can justify switching to the Mini PC for many businesses*.

The SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 Mini PC is ideal for integration into an office or education environment. The end user or system integrator has a free choice of keyboard or mouse, which can be either wireless or USB connected.

The new SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 is optionally supplied pre-installed with Windows 7 Ultimate edition, or pre-loaded with FREE DOS, ready for the reseller or end user to install the preferred choice of operating system. All appropriate drivers are supplied on CD.

SAPPHIRE EDGE-HD2 Specifications:

CPU: Intel Atom D525 1.8GHz with 1 MB Cache
RAM: 2 GB DDR3-800 MHz
Storage: 2.5'' SATA 320GB HDD
Graphics: nVidia ION2 with 512MB RAM
LAN: Built-in Ethernet supporting10/100/1000 Mbps
WIFI: Built-in WIFI supporting IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
I/O: VGA x1, HDMI x1, RJ45x 1, 4 x USB 2.0 Ports, Audio-In x1, Line Out x1
Power: AC 100~240V 50/60Hz,19v~3.42A 65W
Dimensions: 19.3(L) X 14.8(W) X 2.2(H) cm
Weight: 530g
Operating System: Optional Pre-installed Windows 7 or FREE DOS

Via: The Inquirer
Source: Sapphire

Dong Kuk Park