This happens when you are Open-Closed.
This Is EXACTLY The Kind Of Thing Google Is Trying To Prevent With Its Android Crackdown
Sony just launched five PlayStation games for Android, but of course you need a Sony Xperia Play phone to play them.
From Sony's point of view, this makes perfect sense. The company needs to set the Xperia Play apart from all the other Android gadgets out there, and PlayStation games are Sony's intellectual property.
I would have loved to see Microsoft giving out the actual sales numbers but this helps nonetheless to gauge the interest in the WP7 platform. 11,500 Apps in 5 months is a great stat and with 100 Apps per day and 1200 Developers (serious and paying) per week, this number will only grow faster. Very soon the App numbers will not be a differentiator for competing platforms.
Some Key stats below.
A Year Later–The Windows Phone 7 Numbers That Matter
•1.5 Million - The Windows Phone Developer Tools, consisting of Visual Studio Express for Windows Phone and Expression Blend 4 for Windows Phone have been downloaded over 1.5 million times. Put differently, the number of downloads equates to the size of the entire population of Philadelphia. (Somewhere a NY Giants fan just screamed.)
•36,000 – People are talking a lot about the number of developers in their ecosystem. It would be easy for us to say that we had 1.5 million given the developer tools downloaded, or we could talk about the number of people we have on mailing lists, but we won’t. We’d rather give a nod to the 36,000 members of the AppHub community who have voted with their wallets and become members of the Windows Phone developer community.
•“The number:” 11,500 – What is an app? It’s a question that really begs some scrutinizing. For us, from the beginning, we have always been focused on quality over quantity. We recognize the importance of getting great apps on our platform and not artificially inflating the number of actual apps available to customer by listing “wallpapers” as a category, or perhaps allowing competitor’s apps to run on the platform to increase “tonnage.” We also don’t believe in the practice of counting “lite” apps as unique quality content. In reality they only exist because developers can’t have a Trial API and must therefore do extra work. Finally, we don’t double and triple count apps which are submitted in multiple languages.
•1,200 – While the 36,000 registered developers are nice to talk about, the 1,200 newly registered developers we are adding every week is incredibly encouraging. Developers are pragmatists and they are going where there is ample opportunity.
•12 – Customers love our apps. Love them. Windows Phone customers download an average of 12 apps each month. Considering that the phone has only been widely available for around 4 months, that’s very healthy demand.
•1.8 – Nothing upsets developers more than not knowing what is going on with their app during certification. Since opening the Marketplace for application ingestion developers have experienced an average time to certification of 1.8 days. Certification can yield a pass or fail, but developers get an answer on average in days – not weeks, nor months.
Microsoft Top Marketer Mich Mathews to Exit
She announced her retirement last night to company executives and will be helping Kevin Turner, Microsoft's chief operating officer, to whom she reports, and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer find her replacement.
Ms. Mathews oversees more than $1 billion in annual marketing spending for the Redmond, Wash., tech company, including Microsoft's consumer brands such as Windows, Bing and Xbox.
BoomTown is speculating Yusuf Mehdi replacing Mich.
While Microsoft will be conducting a global search for a replacement, several sources said the most obvious internal candidate for the job is Yusuf Mehdi, who is SVP for its Online Audience Business.
He leads global product management, strategic partnerships, business development and U.S. marketing execution for the unit.
Salesforce.com is acquiring additional capability of Listening and Social Analytics to build on top of Social CRM.
Salesforce.com [NYSE: CRM], the enterprise cloud computing (http://www.salesforce.com/cloudcomputing/) company, today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Radian6, the industry-leading social media monitoring platform, for approximately $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, net of cash acquired. The transaction is expected to be completed in salesforce.com’s fiscal second quarter ending July 31, 2011, subject to customary closing conditions.
With this acquisition, Salesforce is doubling-down its business strategy to boost the “S” in the socialization of CRM (sCRM) and help businesses integrate the social customer into its customer relationship management methodologies. The social customer is forcing businesses to adapt processes and systems as their behavior as well as their needs and expectations are evolving along with their use of social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Blogs, et al.
Consolidation is in the air. With this Salesforce/Radian6 deal, Lithium’s acquisition of ScoutLabs and MarketWire picking up Sysomos, we can expect to see businesses place greater importance on the social customer outside of marketing and communications. As my colleague at Altimeter Jeremiah Owyang observed in a recent report, almost 50% of social media programs live inside of marketing today. In order for a business to become a social business, it requires the creation of bridges between business functions and social customers and bridges between existing silos.
First-ever 4 million pageview month at DF: http://twitpic.com/4eq11i
Gruber is one of my favorite (I guess he is #1 in my favorites list) bloggers who has great insights into Apple as a company and its products. So much to learn from him.
By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android with 20.9% market share from current 5.5%.
IDC Forecasts Worldwide Smartphone Market to Grow by Nearly 50% in 2011
"Android is poised to take over as the leading smartphone operating system in 2011 after racing into the number 2 position in 2010," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "For the vendors who made Android the cornerstone of their smartphone strategies, 2010 was the coming-out party. This year will see a coronation party as these same vendors broaden and deepen their portfolios to reach more customers, particularly first-time smartphone users."
Nokia's recent announcement to shift from Symbian to Windows Phone will have significant implications for the smartphone market going forward. "Up until the launch of Windows Phone 7 last year, Microsoft has steadily lost market share while other operating systems have brought forth new and appealing experiences," added Llamas. "The new alliance brings together Nokia's hardware capabilities and Windows Phone's differentiated platform. We expect the first devices to launch in 2012. By 2015, IDC expects Windows Phone to be number 2 operating system worldwide behind Android."
Amazon gets into Music streaming with Amazon Cloud Player and Cloud Drive. No surprises, it has a companion Android App (No iPhone App) to stream that music to. Start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage and best part, you can upgrade to 20 GB free with purchase of any MP3 album. Now that is called bundling.
Introducing Amazon Cloud Drive, Amazon Cloud Player for Web, and Amazon Cloud Player for Android
Store Music for Free
Customers automatically start with 5 GB of Cloud Drive storage to upload their digital music library, and those who purchase an Amazon MP3 album will be upgraded to 20 GB of Cloud Drive space. New Amazon MP3 purchases saved directly to Cloud Drive are stored for free and do not count against a customer's storage quota.
Adding Music to Cloud Drive
Amazon's easy uploading process makes it simple for customers to save their music library to their Cloud Drive. Files can be stored in AAC or MP3 formats and will be uploaded to Cloud Drive in the original bit rate. Customers can hand-pick particular songs, artists, albums or playlists to upload or simply upload their entire music library.
Cloud Player for Web
Customers who have a computer with a Web browser can listen to their music. Cloud Player for Web currently supports Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari for Mac, and Chrome. Cloud Player for Web lets customers easily manage their music with download and streaming options. Customers don't need to worry about regularly updating software on their computer to enjoy music, and Amazon MP3 customers can continue to use iTunes and Windows Media Player to add their music to their iPods and MP3 players.
Cloud Player for Android
Cloud Player for Android is now bundled into the new version of the Amazon MP3 App; it includes the full Amazon MP3 Store and the mobile version of Cloud Player. Customers can use the app to play music stored on their Cloud Drive and music stored locally on their device. Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or song, create playlists and download music from Cloud Drive.
Beneficiaries are the usual. ESPN Cricinfo, Yahoo Cricket and CricBuzz, in that order.
India Turns to the Web for the Latest Updates During 2011 Cricket World Cup
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released results from a study of Internet traffic to cricket websites during the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The report found that the tournament caused a surge in visitation to cricket sites in India as fans went online for the latest results and match updates. Sites reached their highest volume of traffic for the month during the week ending March 13, with 16.4 percent of India’s online population visiting ESPNCricInfo.com and 13.4 percent of web users visiting Yahoo! Cricket.
Internet traffic to select leading cricket sites in India surged in the first month of the tournament. ESPN’s cricket site, ESPNCricInfo.com, saw the largest volume of visitors for the first four weeks of the tournament during the week ending March 13 with nearly 7 million people frequenting the site, an increase of 42 percent from the week ending February 20 when the tournament commenced. Yahoo! Cricket reached 5.7 million visitors during the week ending March 13, while CricBuzz.com surpassed 1 million visitors during both the week ending February 27 and March 13.
Stark Reality Check on Android. Google wants to control Android and openness is nothing more than a marketing gimmick so far.
Android openness withering as Google withholds Honeycomb code
The company revealed Thursday that it will delay publication of the Android 3.0 source code for the foreseeable future—possibly for months. It's not clear when (or if) the source code will be made available. The decision puts Android on a path towards a "draconian future" of its own, in which it is controlled by a single vendor—Google.
When Android was first announced, Google's evangelists touted it as an open ecosystem that would enable innovation—a hardware and software reaffirmation of the Carterfone decision. They spoke of a future where users would be free from restrictions and be able to install whatever software they want.
Sadly, those promises were never fulfilled and the dream of an open mobile ecosystem around Android never materialized. In reality, Android has become an insular platform developed almost entirely behind closed doors in an environment that is hostile to external contributors and is mired in a culture of secrecy that serves a small handful of prominent commercial hardware vendors and mobile carriers.
IDC estimates that Microsoft and its partners generated $580 billion in 2010. For every dollar made by Microsoft in 2009, the ecosystem made $8.70. The software and services subset made $4.43, service oriented partners like SIs make $2.44 whereas ISVs & IHVs make $4.09.
The Big Picture points to a flowchart on how to have a rational discussion. Is anything of this sort possible? Many things to ponder about in this flowchart.
How To Have A Rational Discussion
Guess I am not alone. I too had similar emotions. I downloaded it to know what $41M gets you and after 5 minutes of toying around, have not used it since.
iPhone app store of "Color" may be best app store review ever
Google today launched Disco, a Group Messaging Website and App (surprise, surprise - iPhone only). Not the first time anybody launched a similar app/website/idea. Google had bought Disco.com domain for $225K last year. Wonder if Google will be able to recuperate this investment.
First Look: With Disco, Google Also Joins The Group Messaging Dance (Care Of Slide)
Warren Buffett in India doing what he does best.
Buffett Draws Fervent Fans in India With His Folksy Advice
Mr. Buffett, the chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, spent Friday night with hundreds of new insurance customers at a town hall-style meeting, where he gave advice on topics as diverse as government bonds (don’t buy them now), parenting (“You start out as your child’s hero and you don’t get a second chance”) and social networking stocks like Facebook (“I wouldn’t buy them, but I wouldn’t short them”).
Daily deals business reality check.
Dead Heat: Groupon Down Another 32% in March, LivingSocial Ties It Up
According to many, Groupon’s decline signals general Daily Deal fatigue – that users are tiring of the 50-90% off value proposition. The only problem is…
LivingSocial is up 59% in March and is now generating as much revenue as Groupon in major markets.
So Microsoft filed legal actions against Barnes & Noble Inc, Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., and Inventec Corporation for patent infringement by the Nook e-reader and the Nook Color tablet, both of which run the Android operating system. Some people got the legal action, some people chose to remain blind. My take – If Microsoft is able to have licensing deals with HTC and Amazon.com, then the same should apply (forcibly if required) to other companies like B&N, Motorola etc. OR HTC and Amazon should also stop paying these licensing money. In the first place, we should not give such patents out to Microsoft or any other tech company. OR We should not invent and innovate if our inventions have no protection. You choose.
Android Patent Infringement: Licensing is the Solution
To help companies address Android’s ongoing infringement, we’ve established an industry-wide licensing program. Last year, HTC took a license covering its Android-based smartphones, confirming the viability of our license-first approach. In the e-reader space, Amazon.com signed a patent license with Microsoft last year covering its Kindle device. And many other device makers have also taken licenses to Microsoft’s patents under a number of existing licensing programs. Unfortunately, after more than a year of discussions, Barnes & Noble, Foxconn and Inventec have so far been unwilling to sign a license, and therefore, we have no other choice but to bring legal action to defend our innovations.
Microsoft sites have suddenly become the second most popular U.S. video site in February, a jump of 5 places from #7 and past sites like Yahoo, Facebook, MTV (Viacom) and AOL. Is that Bing effect or new love for Microsoft?
comScore Releases February 2011 U.S. Online Video Rankings
Google Sites, driven primarily by video viewing at YouTube.com, ranked as the top online video content property in February with 141.1 million unique viewers. Microsoft Sites captured the #2 ranking (up from #7) with 48.8 million viewers, followed by Yahoo! Sites with 46.7 million viewers. Facebook.com came in fourth with nearly 46.7 million viewers, while VEVO ranked fifth with 45.9 million viewers. Google Sites had the highest number of viewing sessions with 1.8 billion, and average time spent per viewer at 262 minutes, or 4.4 hours.
| Top U.S. Online Video Properties by Video Content Views | |||
| Property | Total Unique Viewers (000) | Viewing Sessions (000) | Minutes per Viewer |
| Total Internet : Total Audience | 169,646 | 5,038,485 | 816.4 |
| Google Sites | 141,065 | 1,829,662 | 261.6 |
| Microsoft Sites | 48,812 | 297,731 | 46.5 |
| Yahoo! Sites | 46,714 | 200,088 | 36.3 |
| Facebook.com* | 46,661 | 170,319 | 18.5 |
| VEVO | 45,917 | 222,110 | 86.7 |
| Viacom Digital | 45,214 | 229,856 | 74.2 |
| AOL, Inc. | 38,773 | 137,362 | 23.1 |
| Turner Digital | 27,447 | 87,652 | 25.3 |
| Hulu | 27,257 | 143,461 | 224.3 |
| NBC Universal | 24,185 | 53,136 | 20.4 |
*Facebook.com experienced a positive step-change in its data this
month due to the inclusion of an additional video serving location that
was not previously credited to Facebook.
Being the Platform owner, Apple has intrinsic (and unfair) advantage over others when it comes to its control of iOS software. This is what we are seeing with the latest issue of performance differences between Mobile Safari and the UIWebView control in iOS 4.3 which John Gruber defended here.
The Nitro JavaScript engine is only available within Mobile Safari. Outside Mobile Safari — whether in App Store apps using the UIWebView control, or in true web apps that have been saved to the home screen — apps get iOS’s older JavaScript engine.
Put another way: nothing is slower regarding web apps or web page rendering in iOS 4.3 compared to 4.2 or earlier. If anything, everything is at least a little bit faster. But: the most significant performance improvements in iOS 4.3, particularly for JavaScript, are exclusive to Mobile Safari.
The real answer is about security. Perhaps the biggest reason for Nitro’s performance improvements over WebKit’s previous JavaScript engine is the use of a JIT — “Just-In-Time” compilation.
Web apps that are saved to the home screen do not run within Mobile Safari. They’re effectively saved as discrete apps — thin wrappers around the UIWebView control. (That’s why they show up individually in the task bar, just like apps from the App Store.) Home screen apps may well eventually get access to the Nitro JavaScript engine — Apple simply hasn’t yet done (or perhaps finished?) the security work to allow it. It is not an oversight or a bug, or the result of a single person at Apple wishing to hinder the performance of web apps.
So in the near future Apple may allow the Nitro JavaScript engine to be used by Home screen apps but what John fails to mention is that delay in providing this equal opportunity to other App developers gives unfair advantage to Safari browser to gain on other Apps. This delay in getting the first class treatment is the Tax complementary or platform dependent products need to give to enjoy the Platform’s other advantages. And this is not just Apple, this is true with other Platforms (Windows, Facebook etc) also and we will continue to see this going forward. So get accustomed to this way of life.
Om Malik on AT&T – T-Mobile merger plans.
In AT&T & T-Mobile Merger, Everybody Loses
It doesn’t matter how you look at it, this is just bad for wireless innovation, which means bad news for consumers. T-Mobile has been pretty experimental and innovative – it has experiment with newer technologies such as UMA, built its own handsets and has generally been a more consumer centric company. AT&T on the other hand has innovation of a lead pencil and has the mentality more suited to a monopoly – a position it wants to regain.
More reasons to rejoice for WP7 developers and more proof of growing importance of Windows Phone platform. Google has release AdMob Windows Phone 7 SDK (in beta right now) using which Windows Phone developers can integrate Google Mobile Ads into their applications. AdMob joins Microsoft Advertising SDK and Millennial Media in offering SDK for WP developers.
New beta AdMob Windows Phone 7 SDK expands cross-platform monetization options for developers
With the Windows Phone 7 SDK, developers can easily integrate advertising into their applications, control where the ads appear, and what types of ads are shown in their apps. The SDK supports text and banner ads with a variety of post click actions including opening a webpage and linking directly to the App Marketplace.
We have also taken steps to customize the ad experience for the look and feel of the Windows Phone 7 platform and make it easy for users to return to their application after engaging with the ad. Publishers can download the new SDK today by logging into their AdMob account and adding a site type of Windows Phone 7.
