Jatinder Singh

Health and fitness apps to be a $400 million market by 2016

Nov 282011

2016 is the year when the health and fitness apps will cross the $400 million mark, as per ABI research. ABI has further predicted that there will be 1 billion health related apps downloads by 2016. Interestingly, the wearable fitness devices are the ones which would be pushing the segment’s growth.

The Press Release from ABI Research is as follows

PRESS RELEASE — The sports and health mobile application market will grow to over $400 million in 2016 – up from just $120 million in 2010. Much of that growth will be spurred by the ability of mobile handsets to easily connect to wearable devices that in turn can deliver new functionality, accuracy, and appeal to sports and fitness applications.

As the mobile handset adds new ways to access and support healthcare applications, it will become increasingly important within the healthcare market, including home monitoring systems for aging users, personal emergency response services, and remote healthcare monitoring applications. However, sports and fitness will dominate the mobile health application market.

“Downloadable apps are moving the sports tracking device market from proprietary devices to mobile phones, but adoption has been limited by the data they can collect. However, with the connectivity that Bluetooth Smart will embed in mobile handsets, wearable devices will bring greater detail to mobile handsets,” says Jonathan Collins, principal analyst.

Handset connectivity to wearable devices brings a new dynamic to the sports monitoring market. Athletic equipment players have already moved to support handset applications by either using proprietary or battery-draining traditional Bluetooth wireless. Meanwhile, traditional players such as Garmin, who recently launched its first handset application for this market, and Polar have delivered high-end specialist systems. Over the next five years, these players will increasingly have to compete directly with the mobile handset. They will also face a slew of start-ups and new entrants offering applications, online communities, and wearable devices offering a range of applications and services.

“As applications increasingly become part of a bundle that ships with wearable devices, revenues from mobile applications will lag behind the growth in app downloads. Mobile application downloads will actually grow at nearly twice the rate of revenues between 2010 and 2016, with more than a billion downloads annually by 2016,” says Collins.

Apple still leads when it comes to mobile loyalty, followed by Android and RIM

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Nov 262011

Apple surely has a brand loyalty that every CEO yearns for. According to a research published by GfK,

Some 84 percent of iPhone users said they would pick iPhone also when they replace their cellphone, while 60 percent of consumers who use smartphones running Google’s Android said they would stick with phones using the same software.

Only 48 percent of people using Research In Motion’s cellphones said they would stay loyal to their BlackBerrys, the study showed.

While Apple is the leader at present, the current development on Android, RIM’s BBX and Windows Phones from Nokia are all set to give Apple a tough challenge, according to the report.

The scope for brands to lure customers from rivals has diminished and the richest rewards will go to those providers that can create the most harmonious user experience and develop this brand loyalty

What is noteworthy here that 70 percent of consumers said they would stick with their phones due to their seamless integration of features and access to content. The present and future undoubtedly belongs to the Apps and Internet.

Though the firm interviewed around 4500 people in various countries, it never mentions anything about Symbian or Windows Phones. This is quite surprising as a certain percentage of these 4500 people must be carrying Symbian and Windows phones, which the report fails to mention.

Source

Localized apps key for China downloads in 2012

News No Responses »

Nov 182011

Localized apps are the future when it comes to China.

ABI research has published it’s findings, the excerpts of which are as follows

Providing localized features for apps will drive 5.5 billion downloads in China in 2012. An example of a successful localized app is Halfbrick Studios’ Fruit Ninja for China, which includes Chinese zodiac animal images.

Working with local developers and social networks is another way in which foreign developers can localize their apps.

Research analyst Fei-Feng Seet quoted

Regardless of device type, successful apps in the Chinese market are those with a local look and feel and incorporate local content.

China has the most cellphone subscribers in the world, and it is adopting smartphones at an exponential rate. With this adoption rate and the emergence of different app stores, developers who add a local touch to their apps are at a chance of earning higher than the others.

Busted–Don’t fall for the recovering American Soldier hoax

News No Responses »

Nov 162011

After many users of Facebook (including my own friends) were left baffled and utterly infuriated at the news feeds showing highly objectionable content, a new hoax is apparently doing it’s annual rounds on Facebook.

According to the hoax,

When filling out your Christmas cards this year, take ONE CARD and SEND it to this address:

A Recovering American Soldier, c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20307-5001.

If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these soldiers could get to bring up their spirits! Feel free to repost. This is a wonderful thing to do !!

According to Snopes.com

The U.S. Postal Service will not accept mail addressed to "Any Soldier," "Any Wounded Soldier," or the like because if it did, it could be providing a conduit for those who might do harm to armed services members. Such offerings are either returned to sender (if a return address has been provided or if one is found within the package) or donated to charities (if no address for the sender is found). Similarly, military hospitals will not accept letters, cards, or packages addressed in such manner for the same reason. Such beneficences, no matter how kindly meant, are not permitted to reach the soldiers they were intended for.

But there is a legit way to send your greetings to unknown soldiers. It’s called "Holiday Mail for Heroes" and is sponsored through the Red Cross and Pitney Bowes.

You can be a vigilante and spread this message across to fight the hoax.

Adobe kills Flash player for mobile, we run the obituary

News No Responses »

Nov 102011

It’s confirmed ladies and gentlemen. Adobe has put an end to all the rumor mill by stamping the death certificate of Flash Player for mobiles.

This move comes from Adobe after it has decided to focus more on the ailing HTML5, a platform which is “more capable” than Flash. As per Engadget

Adobe will of course also be pushing developers to work in its AIR platform for a more native experience, and the company will continue to work on Flash Player for desktop operating systems, but one can’t help but see the platform as a whole standing on fairly shaky footing at this point.

RIP Flash, you were the sole weakness of Apple, an area where you kicked Apple right in the Hemorrhoids and showed it the finger. The scores now stand Apple – 1, Adobe – 0.

RIM wins accolades and award as BlackBerries helps International Medical Corps save lives

News No Responses »

Nov 102011

Consider a situation wherein you are in an awful natural disaster and you are not able to help people just because your cellphone wont let you.

This is a true story that has led The International Medical Corps to award RIM a recognition in light of the countless lives it helped to save.

Nancy A Aossey, International Medical Corps president and CEO, quoted

We are recognising Research In Motion with the Global Impact Award for the role of BlackBerry smartphones in our operations on the front lines, I can tell you that our use of BlackBerry smartphones literally saves lives.

As a first people to arrive at the earthquake site in Haiti, International Medical Corps was on the ground within 22 hours treating patients and co-ordinating medical personnel, supplies and providing other relief. But their cellphones gave up.

Enter RIM.

Dr Neil Joyce, who has worked with International Medical Corps in Angola, Bosnia, and Afghanistan, among many others, and helped lead its Emergency Response Team in Haiti said

You just don’t know what kind of a setting you’re going to arrive in…

…As we arrived in Port-au-Prince, the cellphones were not working, but I was able to send messages with my BlackBerry smartphone.

Using his BlackBerry, Dr Joyce was able to coordinate the setting up of medical camps and send help where it was needed the most. Not only this, the team used their BlackBerries to coordinate with the pilots who were flying in the relief supplies and help them to land and take off from airstrips.

Dr Joyce added

BlackBerry puts you in contact with the people on the ground and the people on the outside who can help. We really could not have done aid work in the modern setting without a BlackBerry smartphone. It made a huge difference.

Margaret Aguirre, director of global communications for International Medical Corps, also had a BlackBerry with her. She said

It is not only the device of choice, but the device of need.

Doctors and nurses treating patients amid rubble and under trees were able to communicate with each other about patients needing immediate surgery and to co-ordinate the urgent transport of blood supplies. BlackBerry helps us communicate to get the materials to where they’re needed and to find out where things are in the moment of an emergency.

Not only this, the team also helped raise awareness about the disaster by taking photos and uploading them on social networking sites so that the world could have a true picture of the disaster and the military personnel could direct relief efforts in the correct way.

A truly amazing story is all I want to add here…!!

Source

China witnessing astronomical app growth

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Nov 082011

Enter the dragon. China has moved to number two spot in app sessions. According to the app research firm Flurry

…for app developers, who more traditionally look at North America and Europe, China is a market too compelling to ignore. A new market has emerged, and China is the new mobile app dragon.

China has grabbed the number two spot and is soon to become the numero uno in app sessions if the growth continues at this pace. Quite surprisingly, it was at number 10 earlier this year.

While the absolute number of iOS and Android sessions Flurry tracked in the US market doubled between January and October 2011, its share of total sessions decreased to 47 percent from 55 percent.

In contrast, the balance of the top 10 countries – UK, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, South Korea and China – saw a 2.7 times collective increase in sessions, increasing their share of the total to 31 percent from 28 percent.

The rest of the total comes from the “others” group, which Flurry says includes 217 more countries where it tracks sessions. This block has seen its share of the market increase to 22 percent from 17 percent. The same can be seen in the above chart.

China sees the sharpest growth here, with session numbers increasing by 870 percent in the January–October 2011 period. This was ahead of the 570 percent seen for Argentina, and 427 percent growth for Israel.

According to Mobile Briefing

Most impressively, China started the year in tenth place, climbing to fifth by April. If both China and the US continue their current growth paths, China could overtake its rival by the end of 2013, with both having around 23 percent share of the app market.

In addition to its growing usage, China is also becoming an increasingly important market for new app downloads – its share of the market has increased from 1.2 percent to 12 percent during the course of 2011.

From the above numbers, the dragon surely seems hungry for more..!!!

Source

Bada app downloads pass 110 million

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Nov 082011

Samsung has presented us with some figures that points at 110 million app downloads from the Samsung App Store. The same report also tells that around 8.1 million devices are powered by Bada.

According to Mobile Business Briefing

Samsung presented figures at its bada developer conference in London, also revealing that around 5 percent of downloads (5.3 million) were made in the UK.

The first bada handset was launched in June 2010 and Samsung has said it expects the OS to make up 17 percent of sales in the UK next year.

Nothing much to add here..!!

London 2012 Olympics: chaos for mobile phones

Funny stuff, News No Responses »

Nov 082011

Yes you read it correct sirs and madams. Chaos will prevail at the 2012 London Olympics.

According to the Telegraph

A deal struck between the London 2012 Organizing Committee (LOCOG), BT and O2 currently means that some 40,000 executives and guests in its corporate entertainment areas will only be able to use mobiles with an O2 contract – forcing them to adopt a new mobile number, or face a communications blackout.

Such attendees can, as the news says, use Vodafone, Three, Orange and T-Mobile networks in the shared public areas of the Olympic Park. They can now use any other networks other than O2 in their respective shared public areas of the Olympic Park.

Who knew LOCOG and O2 gang can stoop so low. While making money is a good thing, forcing people to port their mobile phone numbers to O2 or adopt a similar mechanism is totally outrageous.

It could turn into a "communications nightmare", said a source. "There will be thousands of chief executives and business people unable to use their normal phone numbers because LOCOG isn’t dealing with the situation.

"They think the operators can just turn their receivers round but it doesn’t work like that. They need to be allowed in the buildings."

Nothing to add here except that this buffoonery only makes the taxpayer more pissed off, as their tax money is being used up by dacoit gangs like LOCOG and O2 to bring a bad name to their nation.

NT-k beats Apple in Spain, wins the lawsuit, demands money, and makes a front for others to fight

Editorials, Funny stuff No Responses »

Nov 032011

Beware, if you are planning to manufacture a tablet that is quadrilateral (read as rectangular) in shape, has buttons or touchscreen of a good finesse, then you might find Apple lawyers knocking at your doors.

The same happened with a small company called NT-K. It is a Spanish company making elegant, four smooth edged, touch tablets. Well Apple thinks this is a violation of their intellectual property and their ingenious designs.

Apparently, I fail to understand why an ergonomically sane company would make a device with sharp corners. This could well harm the owner. But if we believe Apple, then the universal right to make such gadgets that don’t harm the owners reside with it. Hell what, even if your touch is as good as their, and your UI as slick as theirs, you are a criminal to be damned for all eternity.

Well let us get back to the topic, According to FOSS Patents,

Apple accused nt-k in November 2010 of "copying" the iPad and went straight for a customs ban. As a result, Spanish customs seized shipments from China containing nt-k’s Android-based tablet. The little company temporarily appeared on an EU-wide list of product pirates, but worst of all, after some correspondence between the two companies, Apple also brought criminal charges on December 9, 2010 (as it had previously threatened in writing).

The Spanish company’s blog suggests that other small companies got a similar treatment from Apple but gave in. nt-k, however, didn’t want to be bullied and decided to defend itself vigorously. Another company doing so against Apple is a small German device maker named JAY-tech.

This makes very clear that Apple uses it’s might, not to create fair competition, but to subdue the smaller fish with sheer force.

What makes Apple’s lawyers insanely retard is

…In the meantime, the criminal lawsuit progressed, and based on the first-instance ruling, Apple’s charges were dismissed because the judge didn’t conclude that there was "sufficient justification" for a criminal case.

Even a blind imbecile knows when criminal charges are put on people, let alone corporations.

Well, NT-K, after kicking Apple lawyers right in the hemorrhoids, is now demanding compensation. It is asking for compensation for monetary damages, losses that NT-K has suffered, and the “moral damages” Apple has inflicted upon them and the whole small time OEMs.

We are hoping that other firms will take a cue from NT-K and will solidify their stance against Apple.

Feeling the Kinect Effect

Uncategorized No Responses »

Nov 032011

When the XBox 360 as released long time ago, it was just another console. It was marred by the popularity and prowess of the PS3 and the ingenuity of the Wii.

Wii was the console that popularized the concept of motion gaming going extreme. Soon Sony jumped in by introducing the PlayStation Move, which mimicked the Wii on a superior and proven console.

What Microsoft did was to introduce the Kinect, the controller without boundaries.

Almost immediately following the launch of Kinect, hobbyists and academics from around the world embraced Kinect possibilities in ways that surprised and delighted. And with the launch of a non-commercial software development kit, we saw even more exciting and creative applications in the areas of healthcare, rehab, education and so much more. As we watched these stories unfold, the term “The Kinect Effect” emerged in hallway conversations at Microsoft as a way to describe the amazing and creative ways Kinect was being used.

What began as pure entertainment had taken a new form altogether. See for yourself

Frank X Shaw over at the Technet blog quotes

Bill Gates once said, “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years, and underestimate the change that will occur in the next 10." Last year was an incredible year for the Kinect Effect, and with so many fantastic ideas made real in just the one year, I can’t wait to look back in nine!

Being an avid gamer and having owned a lot of consoles myself, I can vouch that no console is inferior when it comes to gaming and enjoyment, but I must really commend Microsoft and the guys who got this idea to transform the Kinect into something unexpected.

Half of UK smartphones are powered by Android, RIM holds number two spot.

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Nov 012011

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has conducted a research on smartphone platforms in the UK and have found out that around half of the UK smartphones have Android of one kind or the other on them.

MBB reports

Android’s share has increased from 29 percent a year ago to 49.9 percent. HTC is leading the way for phone manufacturers using the OS, with 45 percent of Android-based phone sales in the 12 weeks prior to 2 October. Samsung took 38 percent of Android sales with Sony Ericsson contributing 8.5 percent, down from 20.5 percent a year ago.

RIM’s BlackBerry OS is the next most popular smartphone OS, present on 22.5 percent of UK smartphones while Apple’s iOS has 18.5 percent market share, down from 33 percent a year ago. Kantar’s figures were taken before Apple announced the iPhone 4S, a period during which Apple CEO Tim Cook said there had been a significant slowdown of iPhone sales.

While Nokia plummeted from 20 percent last year to 6 percent this year, It’s hopes to gain momentum through the Windows Phone is bleak as Windows Phone managed to bad only a measly 1.4 percent share.

The “bad news for featurephones” is that under half of the UK population (44 percent) owns smartphones, with the growth in sales quickly accelerating. Smartphones made up 69 percent of mobile phone sales during the period.

HTC and AccuWeather facing app lawsuit

News No Responses »

Nov 012011

A class action lawsuit has been files against HTC and the proclaimed AccuWeather on the grounds that AccuWeather tracks user location to within a few feet, and then transmits the information across the internet in an unencrypted form, to be used to deliver targeted advertising.

It was also asserted that there is no way to turn off the app – and therefore no way to stop the location information being made available.

Business Briefing reports

The complaint said that the information transmitted is “unnecessarily precise” for a weather forecast, and was being used “for the defendants’ own purposes unrelated to weather information.” The devices are capable of supplying “coarse” location data, which is less accurate.

It was also said that the transmission of data in unencrypted form is “substandard,” especially since the device is capable of sending data over the Internet using SSL encryption.

The case is calling for refunds, a replacement smartphone, or the premium paid for the devices “above the amount charged for similar, adequately labeled products.”

HTC is involved in this lawsuit is because AccuWeather is shipped pre-installed on many HTC handsets. So that makes HTC, knowingly or unknowingly, a co-culprit in the crime.

Also, as per the document related to the lawsuit

39. Another unreasonable security defect in HTC smartphone is the HtcLoggers service feature on the smartphones. This is not a feature available for Plaintiffs and Class Members to use; it is, however, available to the providers of third-party apps installed on Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ smartphones.

40. The HtcLoggers feature allows any Internet-connected app, regardless of its purpose, to access Plaintiffs’ and Class Members’ email addresses; phone numbers for calls dialed and received; fine and coarse location and location history; text messages; and activity logs for all apps running on the smartphone—essentially, all information regarding all activity
on the smartphone.

41. HTC Corporation reportedly has acknowledged the HtcLogger defect3 but has failed to alert purchasers, rectify the defect, investigate AccuWeather’s use and/or onward transfer of purchasers’ detailed geographic location data, or remediate AccuWeather’s retention of such data.

So now HTC is in some serious trouble.

Document Source

Krusell–TOP 10 selling phones for October 2011

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Nov 012011

Krusell, the Swedish manufacturer of elegant cases for mobiles has provided us with the ever important data of top ten phones for October 2011.

1. (1) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II

2. (2) Apple iPhone 4

3. (9) Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271

4. (4) Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray

5. (-) Apple iPhone 4S

6. (3) Nokia 3720 Classic

7. (7) Sony Ericsson Arc S

8. (6) HTC Sensation

9. (-) Nokia C2-01

10. (-) Sony Ericsson Xperia Neo

() = Last month’s position.

While the Galaxy S2 maintains the numero uno position, as predicted by their MD, Ulf Sandberg some time ago, we do see competition ahead with the iPhone 4S entry.

What is nice is that there are 5 brands in this list for this October 2011. Ulf Sandberg quotes

It’s a good sign to see that the volumes are divided on multiple brands even if LG and RIM are out, and HTC only have one model this month. For the coming month, I forecast that iPhone 4S will climb and so will Sony Ericsson Arc S.

For those of you who don’t know, this list is based on the number of pieces of custom made mobile and smartphone cases ordered from Krusell during October 2011. Krusell’s list is unique due to the fact that it reflects the sales of phones on six continents and in more than 70 countries around the globe.

Q3 worldwide mobile phone numbers, Nokia still rules

Metrics Maid No Responses »

Nov 012011

IDC has reveled the numbers for the Q3 mobile phone shipments. And as unexpected by few, Nokia is still numero uno.

According to the report

Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors

Nokia reversed a global market share on a sequential basis last quarter thanks to stronger feature phone sales in key regions as well as the clearing of inventory backlogs in traditional strongholds, namely China and Europe, which led to a sharp year-over-year shipment and share decline last quarter. Nokia’s smartphone fortunes could improve in quarters to come now that it has introduced the Nokia Lumia devices, powered by Windows Phone 7, to markets where its brand is still relatively strong and in areas where the company has lost share over the past two years.

Samsung registered double-digit growth compared to the third quarter a year ago and also outpaced the market. The company’s growth was again driven by smartphone sales, such as the Galaxy S2. Smartphone sales were notably higher in emerging markets including China. Samsung outpaced the feature phone market as well in terms of growth. The vendor didn’t close the market share gap on Nokia for the top mobile phone position, but it remains within striking distance.

LG Electronics maintained its position as the number 3 mobile vendor worldwide for the twelfth quarter in a row, but continued soft demand for both its feature phones and smartphones led to volume levels not seen since 2Q 2007. With only a few new devices launched and an aging feature phone portfolio, LG’s warnings of lower year-over-year shipment volume appears to have come to fruition. By the end of the year, LG’s grasp on the number 3 position may be loosened as Apple’s aggressive smartphone campaign takes hold in 4Q 2011.

ZTE jumped into the number 4 position thanks to momentum carried into 3Q 2011 with key devices shipping into strategic regions. In China, ZTE has nearly doubled its smartphone volumes from the previous quarter, while within North America, ZTE’s entry-level voice-centric phones at AT&T have gained greater depth. At the same time, ZTE’s target of 12 million smartphone shipments worldwide in 2011 became more of a reality with the introduction of two new Android-powered smartphones for the North American market.

Apple gained share and posted the third-highest growth rate of any Top 5 vendor but dropped to the number 5 position globally. Global iPhone shipments declined sequentially during the same quarter that company founder Steve Jobs handed the CEO reins to Tim Cook. The decline, not coincidentally, happened as Apple readied itself for the 4S launch, which many waited for. Apple’s ability to upgrade 3GS users to the 4S, for example, and make continued inroads into developing economies, where it has been less successful, will help dictate the company’s smartphone fortunes in the future.

The numbers speak for themselves. What should be noted in the chart below is that while LG is the biggest loser, the Biggest winner is ZTE, thanks to it’s featurephones sales. If featurephones are removed, then the champ would be Samsung, thanks to its baffling smartphone sales.

Source

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TamsBada – the Samsung Bada blog

Jatinder Singh

Health and fitness apps to be a $400 million market by 2016

Apple still leads when it comes to mobile loyalty, followed by Android and RIM

Localized apps key for China downloads in 2012

Busted–Don’t fall for the recovering American Soldier hoax

Adobe kills Flash player for mobile, we run the obituary

RIM wins accolades and award as BlackBerries helps International Medical Corps save lives

China witnessing astronomical app growth

Bada app downloads pass 110 million

London 2012 Olympics: chaos for mobile phones

NT-k beats Apple in Spain, wins the lawsuit, demands money, and makes a front for others to fight

Feeling the Kinect Effect

Half of UK smartphones are powered by Android, RIM holds number two spot.

HTC and AccuWeather facing app lawsuit

Krusell–TOP 10 selling phones for October 2011

Q3 worldwide mobile phone numbers, Nokia still rules

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