Flurry: 69% of New Mobile Apps are Made for iOS:

A new report from advertising and analytics company Flurry demonstrates just how dedicated developers still are to Apple’s platforms, with some 7 out of every 10 new apps being made for iOS, versus only 31% for Android in Q1 of 2012.
The firm measures the ‘new project starts’ by recording how many developers are downloading and implementing its analytics SDK in order to fire up a new project. Because developers normally integrate analytics some time before launching apps, these numbers are actually good projections of where new products are going to be launched.

There are several factors that Flurry says contribute to new projects being begun on iOS, rather than Android. Among those is that Android developers actually make 4x as much revenue on iOS than it does on Android. Flurry says that for every $1.00 a developer earns on iOS, he can expect to earn about $0.24 on Android.The second major reason that could contribute to the disparity is Android hardware and software fragmentation. In hardware, only one device (the Samsung Galaxy S II) accounts for more than 10% of the top 20 devices, with 17 of those holding a share of 6% or less as of May 2012. This makes it more difficult to support a wide array of devices for some developers of apps like games, which have specific hardware requirements.

The fact that some 70% of devices on Flurry’s network are still on Gingerbread, an OS over a year and a half old, is also a problem. Flurry points out that Froyo, which shipped before both ICS and Honeycomb, Google’s ‘tablet optimized’ version of Android, has more penetration than both of the new ones combined. Users on versions of the OS that shipped over a year ago make up the majority of the platform’s users, that’s terrible.
This means that developers looking to support new user conventions and features that were shipped in later versions of the OS are limited in what they can do, preventing them from offering the best experiences in their apps. Compare this to iOS where some 75% of users are already on iOS 5+, introduced just this year.
Flurry’s tracking uses data from 70K companies across 185K mobile apps and 1.2B end-user sessions across 100M devices. That’s 36B sessions across half a billion devices a month.

Google Unveils New 3D Maps and Offline Access, Coming Soon to iOS and Android::

Less than 1 week away from WWDC, Google has just unveiled the “next dimension” of Maps, bringing offline access and a new 3D mapping system. According to Google, their new 3D map experience will be coming soon to both iOS and Android, raising questions about the future of Google Maps on iOS.

Recent rumor have suggested that Apple will be replacing Google Maps with their own “mind-blowing” internal mapping system, including 3D capabilities, in iOS 6. If Apple does launch their own Maps app, it’s unclear whether Google Maps wil become available as a separate iOS app, or whether they will try to incorporate features from Maps into Google Earth.

It will be interesting to see what Apple unveils at next Monday’s keynote, and even more interesting to see if they make any attempts to prevent Google from continuing to offer their own mapping system on iOS. Although, considering that GPS apps like TomTom are allowed on the App Store, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll spit in Google’s face.

For more information, check out the official Google blog, the coverage over at9to5Google, or the live blog updates over at Cnet and Engadget. Google has also made a full recording of the event available on YouTube.

Facebook and Apple Finally Get it Together in iOS 6::

Facebook and Apple have been making goo-goo eyes at each other recently, and it looks like the flirting is going to lead to a relationship. MG Siegler is reporting for TechCrunch today that Facebook integration will be included in the next version of Apple’s iOS.

TechCrunch:

…Facebook integration will be very important for iOS — tons of apps use Facebook for sign-ups and authentication (many use Facebook as the only way to do this, to the dismay of some). Apple was undoubtedly watching this activity and realized that it was time to formally bring Facebook on board.

Twitter will still be a big part of the new iOS version. (It’s assumed that it will be named “iOS 6″, it’s currently codenamed “Sundance”.) Twitter will be holding sessions at the WWDC to share more about their continued partnership with Apple, including integration into the upcoming OS X Mountain Lion.

This is a big win for Facebook, integration will allow them to get rid of the clunky sign on technique in iOS where you click a connect button in an app, then switch to the Facebook app to authorize permissions, then switch back to the original app. Facebook being built right into iOS will provide a much more seamless login process.

Siegler says, “It’s important to note that Apple being Apple, something could change in the next week and a half (see again: Facebook/Ping). But as of right now, Facebook is a go in iOS “Sundance”. One thing still being hammered out according to our sources is exactly how sharing will work. Sharing is the other big part of the iOS/Twitter integration, and will be important for iOS/Facebook integration as well. But Facebook is significantly more complicated than Twitter in that there are all kinds of permissions for what you can post where and who can see what. And Open Graph adds another layer of complexity to all of this.”

Siegler’s guess is that Apple will go for simplicity, at least in the initial Facebook/iOS integration, “Beyond authentication, there will probably be a Facebook button in the existing share screen which will allow you to share something to your Facebook Wall.”

Siegler also says that OS X Mountain Lion won’t be including Facebook integration any time soon. Apple will take Facebook’s integration one step at a time, so just iOS for now.

Mac shipments grow 40% in Asia even without new models from Apple


Growth in Mac sales was led by the Asia-Pacific region last quarter, where shipments increased by 40 percent year over year.


Asia-Pacific was highlighted as the primary "bright spot" for the Mac in the last quarter by analyst Charlie Wolf with Needham & Company. Shipment growth of 40 percent in the region offset negative year-over-year growth in the U.S. and Europe.

Shipments were down in the U.S. and Europe because Apple didn't update any of its Mac lineup in the first quarter of calendar 2012. But the lack of new products didn't hinder growth in Asia-Pacific, where Apple easily outpaced the overall PC market's year-over-year growth of just 3.6 percent.

The strong performance in Asia-Pacific allowed global Mac shipments to grow 6.9 percent in the March quarter, which meant that Apple once again outpaced overall PC shipment growth. The total worldwide PC market saw its shipments increase 2.2 percent year over year in the March quarter.

Still, with the lack of new products, Apple didn't beat the overall PC market by as wide of a margin as it did in December, when Mac shipments grew 24.8 percent compared to a 1.7 percent decline in total PC shipments.

"We believe the slowdown (in the March quarter) can be attributed primarily to the absence of any upgrades of Mac models during the quarter, which has typically been a catalyst for shipment growth," Wolf wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. "However, we expect Apple to upgrade both the iMac and MacBooks in June, in advance of the back-to-school buying season."


Some rumors have suggested Apple plans to introduce new Macs at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference when it kicks off with a keynote presentation on Monday, June 11. Specifically, Apple is expected to introduce new MacBook Pros with Retina displays and a thinner design inspired by the MacBook Air, as well as new iMacs that could also receive a Retina display upgrade.

The absence of new Macs in the March quarter also didn't hurt Apple in the business market, where Mac sales grew by 10.4 percent year over year. That easily outpaced Windows, which saw its business sales grow just 0.1 percent.

Wolf also said that the iPad has "undoubtedly" cannibalized sales of the Mac from Apple, particularly in the education market. But given that iPad sales are growing at a rate much faster than Mac sales, he believes the iPad is taking a "much bigger bite" out of Windows-based PC sales.

Facebook phone possible as Zuckerberg hires iPhone engineers

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Facebook could be making a phone. The old rumours have resurfaced, but this time it seems Mark Zuckerberg and co are actively recruiting Apple engineers with iPhone experience -- and Facebook's need to grab hold of the mobile market has never been more pressing.

The world-conquering social network is headhunting Apple engineers who worked on theiPhone and iPad, according to recruiters, to bolster in-house teams already working on a Facephone.

A couple of years ago, the Internets got all giddy at reports of a Facebook phone. But the company wasn't yet ready to make its own hardware, instead concentrating on baking easy access to Facebook features into the software of every smart phone, then in the early stages of their explosion in popularity.

That strategy culminated in the HTC Salsa and HTC ChaCha, two Android phones sporting a dedicated Facebook button -- so, for example, you could share photos as soon as you snapped them, or you could post a status update or message with just a push of the little F.

But then the rumours resurfaced a year ago with the HTC Buffy, a project reported to be ongoing at Facebook Towers.

Facebook has conquered the Internet to such an extent that hardware may be the next logical step. The Like button and Facebook logins to other websites have made Facebook almost like an extra layer on top of the web, so why not take over your phone too?

But most importantly, Facebook recently revealed it makes zero cash from mobile users, as they don't see adverts -- which in this increasingly mobile world is a hole in the business model you could drive an aircraft carrier through. Team Zuck have to establish themselves some mobile money before Apple and Google decide to shut them out.

Facebook's foundation of its own app store for iPhone and Android could be just the first step towards a blue-branded Zuckerphone. Do you like the idea of a Facebook phone? Is Facebook already too all-pervasive? Tag me with your thoughts in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play is NOT getting an Android 4.0 update::

Sony has posted an update on its Android 4.0 upgrades. More 2011 devices will start getting their Android 4.0 OTA updates starting next week, and everything is going as planned with the Xperia S,P and U. But there is also some sad news in the same blog post – it seems the team has decided to cancel the Android 4.0 update on the Xperia Play.

“In regards to Xperia PLAY, after extensive in house testing with our developer teams and working with our partners, we have concluded that a consistent and stable experience, particularly with gaming, cannot be guaranteed for this smartphone on Ice Cream Sandwich - therefore, we will not make the Android 4.0 upgrade available for Xperia PLAY.

This decision was also verified when we received similar feedback from the developer community; both experienced developers and advanced users, along with game content providers following our ICS beta ROM for unlocked Xperia PLAY smartphones.”

Ouch! It seems rather unfair that lower-end devices will be getting the update and the Xperia Play will be left out of the game. But as we have always said, manufacturers will not update phones if they find that the device can’t handle the software. We are not sure how the Xperia Mini or Active can be better fit for Ice Cream Sandwich, but it must have something to do with the device’s purpose – Gaming.

We suppose it is time to stop waiting, as you won’t be getting your upgrade. You can always go the rooting and ROMing way, though. But if you want Android 4.0 officially, it seems you will have to upgrade your device. Sad day for gamers out there… sad day.

F-Secure: Android Malware Has Nearly Quadrupled in the Past Year, iOS Remains Clear::

Since its debut, Android has quickly claimed significant market share in the mobile market. Unfortunately, such popularity (amongst other factors) makes Android a lucrative target for malware authors. New families and variants of malware keep cropping up each quarter, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down. In Q1 2011, 10 new families and variants were discovered. A year later, this number has nearly quadrupled with 37 new families and variants discovered in Q1 2012 alone.

Even more concerning than the increase in malware variants for Android, however, is the increase in the actual number of malicious Android applications discovered in the same time period.  According to the report, that number has jumped from 139 counts in Q1 2011 to a staggering 3063 counts in Q1 2012. That’s a lot of malicious Android apps!

Along with the massive increase in total Android malware threats comes a significantly increased risk to users’ personal and financial security. 34 of the 37 known families of Android malware directly target the user’s financial data.

The most chilling aspect of the report, however, is that many of these trojans are so insidious that they can be extremely difficult to detect, as the malware can work around security software, making it much for difficult for victims to know they have been affected by the malware until it is too late.

The report also notes that most of the malware lies on third-party markets, and users that only download from Google Play are much safer from these threat. However, numerous instances of malware still sneak through the cracks, even on Google’s own curated app market.

Meanwhile, while malware continues to spiral out of control on Android devices (even on Google’s own app market), there still hasn’t been a single known case of malware on Apple’s iOS platform.

Say what you will about Apple’s “closed” App Store, but as I’ve stated time andtime again, I (and my private data) prefer the security of the “walled garden” over the anarchy of Android’s malware-laden thorn patch. And fortunately, I am not alone.

For more details, check out F-Secure’s entire 47-page report (PDF, direct link)