Android Has Biggest Growth in Smartphone Market

The smartphone has become the new ubiquitous gadget that everyone seems to have. We have seen the casette player, the handheld video game console, the mp3 player and the humble, normal, mobile phone dominate the pockets of jackets and bags over the recent years. Step forward the smartphone. To be fair, the smartphone is just the next generation of mobile telephone devices but with advances in technology, you are now able to download music, video and games to your smartphone, browse the web, word process, send and receive emails and so much more. The phone has become a way to interact with the world not just one on one.

Perhaps the most famous smartphone is the iPhone 4 and its previous incarnations. However new research by Canalys suggests the iPhone is not as dominant as the media makes out. In fact, it is the third most popular smartphone device. And whilst it has seen a growth of over 60% from last year, it is dwarfed by Android's 886% increase in growth.

Google's Android is increasingly winning favour over Apple's iPhone platform for a multitude of reasons. Firstly, it is available on many different devices from many different manufacturers, so there are lot more choices for consumers. Furthermore, the Android App Market has a strong community behind it and continues to grow. This is an amazing achievement for Android. It certainly hasn't been grabbing the headlines like Apple's offering but it is nice to see that there is still competition.

All smartphone providers have seen an increase in sales apart from Windows, although Windows 7 Mobile OS might change that. Interestingly, Symbian is still the undisputed market leader with more than double the share of its nearest rival. Symbian, however, looks like it is going to be phased out eventually by Nokia. Symbian is a relatively old smartphone OS and Nokia's stronghold in Africa, Asia and Europe accounts for the platform's success. However, it seems Nokia are aware that Symbian may not contend well with the latest smartphone OS platforms as it is continuing to show support for Linux based Maemo and Meego platforms.

Google Releases App Inventor for Android

In an innovative new move, Google have released an online app inventor application that allows non-programmers to create apps for Google's Android platform. Here's what Google have to say about it:

"You can build just about any app you can imagine with App Inventor. Often people begin by building games like WhackAMole or games that let you draw funny pictures on your friend's faces. You can even make use of the phone's sensors to move a ball through a maze based on tilting the phone.

But app building is not limited to simple games. You can also build apps that inform and educate. You can create a quiz app to help you and your classmates study for a test. With Android's text-to-speech capabilities, you can even have the phone ask the questions aloud.

To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires NO programming knowledge. This is because instead of writing code, you visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app's behavior."

Here's a video of it in action:



This is an amazing step forward in the apps market. Up until now, whilst the apps market has been open to carying degrees (with different platforms allowing more creative/programming freedom than others), this is a hgue step forward and is definitely a smart move by Google.

I guess a lot of people might be scepticle and maybe even some programmers are annoyed at this new development, however I think it's a great idea and will no doubt inspire a whole new generation to take up programming. A lot of children, teenagers and young people really enjoy making things; I remember my first steps into HTML via Homestead and Geocities. From there I went on to learnt HTML, CSS and Photoshop. Whilst I doubt people will learn actual coding through this, it just might be the first initial step for kids to get interested and then go on to learn programing languages and I'm all for education within the tech industry.

They also have a lot of tutorials but as yet you can't just register and start making apps. It seems like Google are vetting registrations or maybe there's a waiting list?

China's Influence on Global Technology?

I came across a really interesting article on CNET about China's influence on global tastes in the motor industry. China has recently overtaken the US as being the biggest automotive consumer industry. You might think, so what? China is on the other side of the world but consumer demands in China reflects what the consumer gets in the US.

I found this to be really interest. CNET mentions that car manufacturers have coined the term - 'C-Factor' in relation to this new found influence. I think this speaks volumes of the new position Asian countries find themselves in - specifically China and Taiwan.

Traditionally, Japanese and South Korean businesses are reverred for their technological expertise and approach to economy and business. Everyone is well aware of the technological power houses that dominate the tech landscape: Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and LG to name just a few. But in recent years we have seen the rise of HP, Apple and Dell, Western technology companies that continue to thrive. However, even more recently we have seen the growth of two new East Asian countries within the technology market - China and Taiwan.

China's technology industry has recently been making a lot of headlines internationally due to the controversial tragedies at Foxconn, manufacturers of Apple products amongst many other products for leading technology companies. China's Lenovo PC manufacturer is now in the top 4 selling companies and will continue to grow.

Taiwan doesn't normally get the same amount of headlines as China but its technology industry is making business headlines as it continues to rapidly grow. Acer has become the second biggest computer manufacturer - leap frogging Dell to reach the coveted spot. Although this is somewhat dismissed by Dell (who wrongly or rightly claim it is profit not sale numbers that count), it is still a huge achievement. I guess what it shows is that the technology industry is a continually changing landscape. It will be interesting to see how/if the C-Factor and T-Factor affects other industries such as food, health and so on. Ultimately though, it will be interesting to see if these new companies can continue at the pace they are currently at and if they can stay ahead of the competition once they reach the top.

(Image credited to here)

Apple iAd Network

Apple has announced that the launch date for the iAd mobile advertising network will be July 1. Why is this platform different from other types of advertising that one can find on the Internet or by watching television?

As Steve Jobs said in his last presentation in relation to the Iphone OS4: “What we want to do with iAd´s is to deliver interaction but also deliver emotion.”

It is a well-known fact that interactive ads on the web are not capable of delivering emotion. On the other hand, television ads are capable of delivering emotion but not interaction. Apple wants to sit in the middle and deliver interaction and at the same time emotion. This is the reason why this new feature by Apple is so important. Users can interact with advertising through distinct features such as: full-screen video, audio, games, maps, and more. It is also very important to note that one does not have to leave the application that they are currently using. By simply clicking on an (x) on the top left corner of their Iphone, the phone goes automatically back to the application the user was using before clicking on the ad.

Apple is also trying to help developers and this is the reason why they have decided to give 60% of advertising revenue to developers. This product will be available for iphone and ipod touch users and it will truly change ads in the mobile industry.