Daily Tidbits: iPhone app downloads reach 500 million
Apple announces iPhone app downloads have reached 500 million and there are more than 15,000 apps in the store.
Correction, 12:10 p.m. PST: This story misspelled the name of one of the private investors in Snooth. His name is Kevin Fortuna.
Apple announced Friday that over 500 million apps have been downloaded from its App Store. Amazingly, the company only reached 300 million downloads on December 5, meaning its App Store has enjoyed accelerating growth since the holiday season. The announcement, which was made in the form of an advertisement on Apple's home page, also claims that the App Store now features more than 15,000 apps.
A new report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project says that more adults than ever are using social networks. That said, from a percentage perspective, there are still more teens using individual networks. According to the report, 65 percent of teens in the United States are using social networks, compared with just 35 percent of all the adults. But because there are more adults than teens in the country, the younger crowd is still outnumbered. Pew found that only 6 percent of adults in the U.S. use LinkedIn, a social network for professionals, and the majority of adults become part of social networks to "stay in touch with friends." The full report can be viewed here (PDF).
Web streaming service, Ustream, will allow its users to stream President-elect Barack Obama's Inauguration Day through their iPhone, a report from TechCrunch says. The iPhone app will be made available before the inauguration, and, once downloaded onto Apple's phone, users can stream any channel on Ustream directly to their iPhone. Ustream's iPhone app will be free and made available in the iTunes App Store.
Just in time for tax season, Intuit announced Friday that it has launched FreeLoader Nation, a marketing and social media campaign with MySpace. According to the company, FreeLoader Nation will offer access to TurboTax's free online federal tax preparation software, as well as other freebies like concert tickets. Once users sign up for FreeloaderNation, they will receive e-mail bulletins announcing updates and have the option of becoming friends with other members in the group.
Snooth, a social wine review site, announced Friday that it has raised $1 million in an angel round of financing. The round was led by private investors Joe Meyer and Kevin Fortuna. Company executives say they will use the funding to grow the service and improve site infrastructure.