Like Amazon’s Kindle Fire devices, Barnes & Noble’s Android-powered Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets have always relied on the company’s proprietary app store for software distribution.
While this ensures that every app you download will work well on your slate, it also means that the app selection is limited, and nowhere near that of Android’s own Google Play store.
But that all changed today when Barnes & Noble announced it will finally be bringing Google Play to its tablets.
Advertising and mobile analytics company, Flurry, has released some new stats on the reach that mobile apps seem to be enjoying. The take-away here is that the number of people using mobile apps in any given day, at least the apps that Flurry tracks, seems to be growing into a sizable group of people, albeit a bit fragmented across platforms and devices.
Flurry estimates that there were 224 million active mobile users in apps tracked this past February across iOS and Android, which is a bit more than the number of active users (221 million) during the same month on laptop or desktop computers, as measured by comScore, a similar company that tracks computer user data.
Apple got a head start on Google with the App Store, but over the last year, Google Play has continued to make up ground, not only with its offerings of apps, but also the amount of revenue it generates.
In Q4 2012, Apple’s App Store was still seeing four times as many sales as Google Play was, but fast forward to Q1 2013 and the App Store is now only making 2.6 times as much as Google Play.
Just as the first prototype units are wending their way out to the initial lucky folks who get to use Google Glass before the rest of us, Google has posted its API for developers to start building apps for this latest wearable tech device.
In an out-of-character move for the Android operating system, Google is prohibiting developers from giving out their apps from anywhere but the official Google-hosted distribution channel. The company is also forbids anyone from adding advertisement or collecting any sort of fee to use said apps.
The latest App Report from research firm Appthority has found that free apps downloaded onto iOS devices are more likely to collect your personal data than free apps downloaded on Android, with 60% of the top ten App Store downloads sharing data with advertising and analytics networks.
The report suggests that due to the volume of titles in the App Store, iOS developers are more likely to collect your data and pass it on as an alternative revenue stream.
BlackBerry — previously Research in Motion — launched the new BlackBerry Z10 last week, the first smartphone to run the company’s new BlackBerry 10 operating system. Originally set to launch in late 2012, the Z10 has been a long time coming for BlackBerry fans, and it’s a hugely important milestone for the Canadian company.
Many see this as BlackBerry’s last hope of survival in today’s cutthroat smartphone market. It’s been rapidly losing market share to Android and iOS devices over the past five years, and it hasn’t evolved quick enough to put up any sort of a fight. But it’s better later than never.
BlackBerry 10’s here now, and with the help of the Z10 — and later the Q10 — it’s going to be trying to persuade you to give up your iPhone or Android-powered smartphone in favor of a brand new platform. But is it good enough?
I’m a long-time iOS user who recently made the switch to Android, and I’ve been really curious to see if the Z10 is any good. I’ve been using the device almost exclusively since its release; here’s Cult Of Android’s review.
Amazon has today announced a new virtual currency that will be used inside apps and games developed for its Kindle Fire tablet family. Called “Amazon Coins” and set to arrive in May, Amazon believes the move is “another substantial opportunity to drive traffic, downloads and increase monetization even further” for developers.
SEGA loves themselves some Sonic — and they’re hoping you do too. The hedgehog that never sees his shadow (or if he does, isn’t afraid of it) is back in the Play store! This time around, Sonic is doing battle with Dr. Eggman in a more vertical environment.
Pitfall! Harry is at it again in this re-envisioned version of the cult classic Pitfall! The nostalgia may not be there, but you’ll find plenty of Pitfall! adventure in this fun free-running game full of classic PITFALL! foes like rattlesnakes, scorpions, and of course — crocodiles!
Google has finally rolled out the ability for Android developers to add localized graphics to their applications in Google Play. As Android devices become increasingly popular the world over — particularly in China, where a third of all Android devices are sold — the company has finally seen the need to support promotional materials dedicated to different countries.
