Category Archives: Apple
Shazam behind 1 in 14 of all music downloads
Meanwhile iTunes reaches 50 billion app downloads
Figures just released by Apple show that its App Store has now reached its 50 billionth app download. That figure represents unique downloads excluding re-downloads and updates. The winner of a $10,000 App Store gift card Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio, USA. He downloaded Say the Same Thing by Space Inch from here. But ITunes is about more than apps – it’s music too. As Shazam points out, it was behind the 25 billionth Apple music download back in February 2013. Continue reading
Apple’s App Store marks historic 50 billionth download
Press release
May 16th 2013. Apple has announced that customers have downloaded over 50 billion apps1 from the revolutionary App Store. Customers are downloading more than 800 apps per second at a rate of over two billion apps per month on the App Store. The 50 billionth app was Say the Same Thing by Space Inch which was downloaded by Brandon Ashmore from Mentor, Ohio USA who received a $10,000 App Store gift card to commemorate this historic milestone. Continue reading
MegaFon investors to share $1.3bn dividend windfall
Usmanov alone set to pocket quarter billion dollars from controlling stake
MegaFon, the Russian mobile operator owned by controversial billionaire Alisher Usmanov, is to pay out a bumper $1.3 billion in dividends after beating analysts’ earnings estimates. It means Usmanov, who part floated the company in London last November, himself stands to become more than £250 million richer thanks to the payout. Continue reading
BlackBerry opens up BBM to Android & iOS
No mention of WP8 version, though
In a typical if-you-cant-beat-em-join-em approach, BlackBerry has just announced plans to make its IMS facility BlackBerry Messenger BBM available to iOS and Android users. That is, of course, if Apple and Google allow BlackBerry to upload the apps to their resxpecitive app stores. There’s no mention of a Windows Phone 8 (WP8) client, of course. One UK publication described BBM as the “rioters’ texting toool” because BBM proved to be the IMS of choice amongst London rioters. Other observers take the view that WhatsApp is likely to have the most to lose. However, GoMo News believes that it’s the mobile operators who are most in danger as a universal BBM could seriously dent their SMS revenues. Continue reading
Samsung edging out Apple in smartphone wars
South Korea’s Samsung has further extended its lead over Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker, taking a 31 per cent share of recent sales according to new data.
Research firm Gartner says the manufacturing giant sold 64.7 million smartphones in Q1 2013, against 38.1 million iPhone sales. It means Samsung is increasing its lead since a year ago when it sold 40.6 million smartphones to Apple’s 33.1 million.
Together, the two companies now account for nearly half the smartphone market which in itself is increasing by 43 per cent a year. Gartner says more than 200 million people bought smartphones in the quarter, and that the devices now account for just AMeanwhile, Nokia’s shares slump after release of latest WP8 model
South Korea’s Samsung has further extended its lead over Apple as the world’s largest smartphone maker, taking a 31 per cent share of recent sales according to new data. Research firm Gartner says the manufacturing giant sold 64.7 million smartphones in Q1 2013, against 38.1 million iPhone sales. It means Samsung is increasing its lead since a year ago when it sold 40.6 million smartphones to Apple’s 33.1 million.
Together, the two companies now account for nearly half the smartphone market which in itself is increasing by 43 per cent a year. Gartner says more than 200 million people bought smartphones in the quarter, and that the devices now account for just under half of total phone sales globally.under half of total phone sales globally. Continue reading
MegaFon boss takes a bite out of Apple
Uses British tax haven firm to swoop on shares
Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has splashed out $100 million investing in Apple, it has emerged, through his Virgin Islands firm USM Holdings. Usmanov – recently revealed as Britain’s richest man here, also uses USM to control MegaFon, Russia’s second largest mobile phone operator and its fourth largest telecom operator serving 62.1 million subscribers, via his Garsdale telecoms holding. Apple’s stock has fallen 38 per cent since its September high, though when and at what price Usmanov acquired his Apple shares is unclear. Continue reading
The iWatch might look something like this …
Okay. We’re winding you up it’s just an iPhone 5 accessory
When GoMo News first spotted the photo (left), we really thought it might have something to do with the much-rumoured Apple iWatch. After all, the Cupertino based supplier really does need to come out with a new product line fast. However, it turns out to be simply a high quality timepiece for the iPhone 5 – made by the PTB Design Corporation in Vancouver, Canada. The firm appears to use the brand name Bissol to make it sounds luxurious. Actually, the product name is Calibre 788. Just don’t try to buy one just yet. Continue reading
Android tightens its grip as top smartphone platform
Launch of Galaxy S4 could make it even more dominant
Latest figures from research firm Kantar show Android is becoming increasingly dominant as a smartphone platform, and is set to extend its lead. It found that in almost every global region the Google OS had a bigger slice of sales, accounting for 58.3 per cent of smartphones in the UK alone during the first three months of this year [2013], compared to 48.3 per cent a year earlier. Android has also surged ahead of Apple’s iPhone in key markets such as Japan and the USA, and is even more dominant in Europe and Greater China. Continue reading
Guest Post: Apple’s iTunes turns 10 years old
by John Oswald, business design lead, with Fjord
Apple reached a milestone on Sunday [April 28th 2013] with its iTunes online service turning ten years old. Today it is so easy to forget how ‘revolutionary’ this fore-runner of the modern app store actually was. iTunes legitimised digital music in an era where MP3s were synonymous with piracy. Continue reading
Apple needs to attract to emerging markets to keep smartphone crown
Rating: Juniper smartphone research show small rise for Apple
It seems that Apple managed a small rise in its smartphone shipments according to the latest estimates from mobile analyst firm, Juniper Research. The firm reckons Apple sold something like 37.4 million iPhones in Q1 2013 compared to 35.1 million in the same period last year [2012]. Overall, around 200 million smartphones are estimated to have been shipped in Q1 2013. No surprises for guessing who came out best. Samsung’s estimated 68 million smartphones represent 34 per cent of all smartphone shipments in the quarter. So, if Apple is to retain its smartphone crown, it will have to take drastic steps. Continue reading
Amazon is morphing into the new Apple
Rating: Magister says Amazon has major design on mobile space
It is so obvious that Amazon is et to become the ‘next Apple’ that, “Even Inspector Clouseau* would not have difficulty working out that Amazon is a business with a deep interest in being a serious mobile player,” says Victor Basta, md with Magister Advisors. Apple is a hardware business which went e-commerce. Amazon is an e-commerce business that has gone hardware (read Kindle Fire). Now it looks like Amazon is setting its sights on being a major player in the mobile space. Continue reading
Samsung’s Galaxy S4 launch ‘hit by supply problems’
Overwhelming demand blamed
South Korean giant Samsung has admitted it might have problems meeting demand for its new Galaxy S4 smartphone, due to be launched globally on Saturday, after two US mobile operators delayed their release dates. The S4′s launch has been widely anticipated, dubbed as it ‘the iPhone killer’ and backed up by an aggressive marketing campaign. But Lee Don-joo, head of Samsung’s marketing of mobile business, today [25th April 2013] revealed roll-out might be patchy. “We’ve received many more pre-orders than expected,” he told reporters, “so we are having difficulties in rapidly increasing supply in a short period.” Continue reading
Apple hikes dividends and embarks on huge share buyback in bid to keep investors happy
A host of ‘revolutionary new products’ also promised
Apple is to increase dividends by 15 per cent, it has been revealed, as the company attempts to woo back disenchanted investors hit by its falling share price. The Cupertino based manufacturer’s stock is currently trading at its lowest for more than a year amid fears that sales of its flagship iPhone and iPad devices are on the wane. Last night [23rd April 2013] Apple confirmed analysts’ expectations of a slowdown, returning revenues of $43.6 billion for the first three months of the year – an 11 per cent rise on the same period last year – but with sales increasing at a much slower rate. Profits, meanwhile, fell from $11.6 billion to $9.5 billion due to the thinner margins on older and cheaper devices. Continue reading
Apple still rakes in lion’s share of app revenues, but Google is closing gap fast
Search giant’s app income jumps 90 per cent in just one quarter
App revenues at Google Play are growing much faster than those at rival Apple’s iTunes, though it’s the latter that still accounts for three quarters of all purchases. Collectively the app stores brought in $2.2 billion in the first three months of this year, according to Canalys, with Apple’s App Store generating $1.48 billion of that. But Google is catching up fast. Separate data from another research firm, App Annie, show the search giant has made significant headway from a year ago when its apps generated just a tenth of Apple’s revenues. In fact, Google’s revenues jumped 90 per cent in Q1 2013 from the fourth quarter last year. Continue reading
Apple investors braced for unwelcome profit plunge
Thin margins could spark further fall in share price
Apple investors are bracing themselves for a rare plunge in profits tomorrow [Tuesday, 23rd April] when the Cupertino manufacturer reveals how many iPhones and iPads it has sold in recent months. Though most analysts expect Apple to report another record period of sales for the three months to April, they also believe lower margins on its iPhone 5 and iPad mini are set to cause the first drop in profits for a decade. Continue reading
