mobile apps

Though more online stores have been crowding the mobile app market, Apple remains by far the app-store leader, according to data out today from IHS, which recently acquired technology researcher iSuppli.

For 2010, Apple took in $1.78 billion in worldwide sales from its App Store, a leap of 132 percent from $769 million in 2009. And while it lost market share to some of its mobile rivals, Apple still captured 82.7 percent of the app store market last year, down from 92.8 percent the prior year.

One factor that boosted Apple's mobile app sales in 2010 … Read more

App store GetJar plans to "aggressively expand" its software for Android devices with at least part of a new $25 million funding round.

GetJar, which started its app shop in 2005, touts itself as the world's largest open app store and the second largest app store behind Apple's. GetJar boasts more than 1.5 billion downloads to date for multiple mobile platforms, including iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian.

With the new capital, GetJar said it plans to expand its sales, marketing and engineering efforts. The company is eyeing the Android arena in particular and … Read more

A burst of activity in Windows Phone 7 projects may be a sign that developers see promise in a Nokia-Microsoft tie-up, according to analytics firm Flurry.

Even before Nokia and Microsoft revealed late last week their proposed deal for Windows Phone 7 on Nokia phones, speculation about it apparently led to a surge in developer interest. Tracking the mobile platforms based on new projects started by developers, Flurry said it had seen relatively flat numbers for Windows Phone 7 for the month or so prior to last week.

But with speculation making the rounds early last week about a possible … Read more

At the Mobile Insider conference this week, representatives from mobile ad network AdMob reported that three to four Ferraris are sold each month on eBay's mobile app. The surprising statistic was confirmed by eBay Motors, which added that the eBay app for iPhone has moved 38 Ferraris since it launched last year.

But it's not just Ferraris mobile users are bidding on--members have purchased Lamborghinis and Bentleys from their mobile devices. The most expensive vehicle purchased using the iPhone app was a Mercedes SLR McLaren for $240,001. Whoever bid $240,000 for the vehicle must be kicking themselves.

These big-ticket vehicle purchases have been made through a combination of "Buy Now" selections and auctions. eBay spokesperson Angela Leon says mobile app features that alert users when they've been outbid have made it easier for members to complete sales on mobile devices.

Mobile buying and bidding of vehicles will continue to grow when eBay launches its Motors-specific app in the next few weeks.… Read more

Google is recruiting developers to work in-house on mobile apps for its Android operating system, a report says, as the tech giant continues its challenge to Apple's iOS and the popular devices that run on it.

Benjamin Ling, a Google product-management director, has been supervising an attempt to coax software engineers, user-interface specialists, and product managers into the Google fold, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources.

The Journal added that some current Google workers have shifted their positions at the company to join the app project, which will be spread across Google's global offices and cover … Read more

The growing wave of tablets is spurring mobile app developers to put the devices at the top of their priority lists, according to a new survey.

An IDC and Appcelerator survey of app developers (PDF) found that interest in Android tablets shot up 12 points over the past three months with 74 percent "very interested" in developing for the Google OS-based devices.

But the iPad is still king, with 87 percent of those polled "very interested" in developing for Apple's tablet. Interest in Research In Motion's upcoming BlackBerry Playbook nearly doubled to 28 percent. … Read more

LAS VEGAS--Although hardware took the spotlight at CES 2011, there was plenty to see on the software and service side as well, particularly in conjunction with said hardware. For one, the vast majority of the latest and greatest TVs at the show were Internet-capable devices with some type of app integration. Several manufacturers of both televisions and set-top boxes will run the Google TV operating system, while others plan to offer their own proprietary apps as well.

Another hot topic from the show: Honeycomb, the upcoming Android OS designed specifically for tablets. In fact, the new platform contributed to the … Read more

LAS VEGAS--With increasing numbers of laws going on the books in an attempt to curb unsafe texting-while-driving habits, it's no surprise that there are a variety of devices and apps that offer hands-free messaging functionality. ZoomSafer software aims to take things a step further by automatically detecting when you start driving and then disabling e-mailing and texting on your phone. Today, the company announced availability of its app for the Android OS.

Those who install the app on their devices have the option to configure ZoomSafer in a variety of ways. It can be programmed to trigger using in- … Read more

It's a long-standing truism that people won't pay for online content, but a new study from Pew Internet suggests otherwise.

Among the 750 Internet users in the U.S. surveyed by Pew for a study out today, 65 percent said they've paid for online content.

Music, software, and mobile apps were the most popular items among paying users. But the range of content that people were willing to pay for ran the gamut from games to news articles to adult material.

The survey focused on 15 different kinds of online content to see what people had purchased. … Read more