AdMob: iPhone 60% of U.S. Smartphone Usage

AdMob reports, “the iPhone represented 60 percent of U.S. smartphone usage in AdMob’s network in July 2009, followed by RIM and Android devices at 13 and 12 percent, respectively.”

AdMob surveyed over 1,000 iPhone, iPod touch and Android users to find our more about their interaction and download behavior with apps. Other highlights:

• Android and iPhone users download approximately 10 new apps a month, while iPod touch owners download an average of 18 per month
• More than 90 percent of Android and iPhone OS users browse and search for apps directly on their mobile device instead of their computer
• Upgrading from the lite version was the top reason given when users were asked what drives them to purchase a paid app
• iPhone and iPod touch users are twice as likely to purchase paid apps than Android users.
• Users who regularly download paid apps spend approximately $9 on an average of five paid downloads per month

AdMob says (pdf) that Apple’s iPhone store sells some $200 million in applications every month (about $2.4 billion a year), with about 1.5 billion apps downloaded from the App Store in total. The Android marketplace, by comparison, generates about $5 million a month (about $60 million a year).

“However,” reports VentureBeat, “users who purchase paid apps on either platform exhibit similar downloading and spending habits, indicating the potential for paid apps on Android Market as it develops.”

The survey asked more than 1,000 Android, iPhone, and iPod Touch users about their download habits, and found that those who regularly paid for apps spent similar amounts of money — roughly $9 per month on five downloads — regardless of whether they were iPhone or Android users. Source:  Dailywireless

Exploring The Concept Of “Notescasting” For iPods

Finding new avenues in which to utilize mobile marketing isn’t an easy task, but a company called TimeStream Software has done just that with a new concept known as “Notescasting.”

In its own words, TimeStream explains Notescasting as “a powerful organized collection of interactive copy embedded with links to related photos, video, audio and additional interactive text, all of which installs to your iPod’s ‘Notes’ feature.”  Basically, it’s like a mini brochure that’s downloaded directly to an iPod that includes support for endless pages, links and anything else a traditional Website supports.

The key aspect of Notescasting is that it opens the door to nearly 120 million iPod Classics and Nanos in use today that were previously unreachable by advertisers.  iPhones and iPod Touches are already well-utilized marketing mediums, but iPod Classics and Nanos are a virtually untapped resource for marketers.  Combined, Notescasting can be utilized on well over 150 million mobile devices in use around the world.

With Notescasting, companies can promote their products and services with up to 1,000 pages of in-depth content, all linked to related photos and video, which their customers can now review in the palm of their hand wherever they go and whenever they want- even if there is no Internet access or cell-phone signal.  With its hierarchical folder and file structure, Notescast content is organized and displayed so that users can “surf” any Notescast title to quickly find the information they need, as well as supporting information in additional photos, video, audio, etc.

It’s an interesting concept that could have potential- according to TimeStream, the concept has already been embraced by the likes of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels, DoubleTree, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts, and other big-name brands, but we’ll have to keep this one on the radar and see how it all pans out.

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Apple’s iTunes 9 to Feature Social Networking?

Rumors continue to swirl around Apple and their alleged plan to introduce a new version of iTunes next month.

But the major reason iTune 9 has so many people talking is because it may feature some form of social networking platform.

As a result of such speculation, many bloggers and Apple enthusiasts are wondering if the company will actually push through an updated software package that will take the next generation iTunes into the realm of social media.

If the development actually manifests, how will it work?

For now, it is believed that the iTunes social networking platform will be an app (presumably for the iPhone as well as desktops) that will enable users to share personal information in real time about the music they are listening to. We may also see “musical status updates” so friends and followers can see what
you’ve downloaded, uploaded, or recently jammed to.

Will it work? Will it even happen?

It looks like we’ll find out soon one way or another.

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Apple Tablet & Atom Makeover

The Apple Tablet gossip includes this courtesy of Barron’s (and C/Net):

A “veteran analyst,” albeit a very anonymous one, has allegedly seen and touched Apple’s rumored “slate-style” PC, which we like to call the jumbo iPod Touch. According to Barron’s source, the new product will be announced in September, released in November, and carry a price tag of between $699 and $799. As previously reported, the tablet (or whatever Apple plans on calling) is ready to go but has been awaiting final approval from Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Meanwhile, at the Intel Technology Summit in San Francisco, an executive described a major refresh of Netbook silicon, better-designed “ultrathins,” and turbo-powered high-end laptops.

Netbooks may undergo the biggest change, says C/Net. Models that appear after Windows 7 ships in October will see the most significant overhaul internally since the Netbook category debuted back in the spring of 2008. Intel’s new “Pine Trail” Atom silicon will collapse most of the core chips onto one piece of silicon, improving the power efficiency and boosting performance.

Pine Trail is a two-chip solution versus today’s three-chip solution and includes the 45nm Intel Atom processor, codenamed Pineview-M, with integrated graphics, display and memory controllers on the processor. The platform also includes Tiger Point, an input/output (I/O) hub. The integration in Pine Trail will offer overall platform BOM savings, improved performance, graphics, thermals and lower average power compared to today’s solutions.

Meanwhile, an array of smartbooks built around ARM-based Snapdragon (from Qualcomm) or Tegra processors (from Nvidia), are expected from Acer, Foxconn, Pegatron Technology, Compal and Inventec, starting in fourth-quarter 2009, according to Digitimes.

A CULV “ultrathin” with a 11.6-inch screen will go into production next month by Acer, with production of a 10.1-inch netbook revision beginning in September. Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage chips may run all day on batteries with performance between Intel’s Atom and Dual core CPUs.

Meanwhile, Dell and Intel are collaborating on a touchscreen tablet due for release next year, says Wired. The tablet will apparently serve as a subscription-based e-reader for displaying newspapers, magazines and other media, competing with Amazon’s $500 large-format DX model. Source: http://www.dailywireless.org/2009/08/03/apple-tablet-atom-makeover/