Mobile App Store Downloads 7X Bigger by 2014

Mobile app store downloads will increase by a factor of seven between 2009 and 2014, according to Pyramid Research. In 2010 Pyramid Research projects that 36 percent of paid apps will be downloaded through app stores and 86 percent of free downloads will take place through them.

App stores have become an important element in the mobile value chain in part because a wide range of easily accessible apps has quickly become a prerequisite for handset and platform vendors. Vendors also gain a new revenue stream, a powerful customer loyalty tool, an important gateway to additional revenue streams and an attractive resource for potential operator partnerships.

Advertising revenue is expected to play a big role in allowing developers to create revenue streams from free apps.

Developers will be the biggest winners, not only as they gain a higher portion of revenue but also because competition among stores will greatly improve support, payment terms and transparency.

Most third-party stores and aggregators will lose out over time to vendor and operator-sponsored stores, though Getjar might be the salient example of an exception to the rule.

Android Outsells iPhone in First Quarter

Smartphones carrying Google’s Android operating system outsold the iPhone in the first quarter of 2010, say researchers at NPD Group. During the quarter, Android handsets accounted for 28 percent of smartphone sales, beating out iPhone OS and its 21 percent share.

BlackBerry remains the bestselling OS, with its devices capturing 36 percent of the market. NPD attributes the shift to strong sales of the Motorola Droid and Droid Eris.

Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless's smartphone sales on par with AT&T in the first quarter. According to NPD, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

The continued popularity of messaging phones and smartphones resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones, despite an overall drop in the number of mobile phones purchased in the first quarter. The average selling price for all mobile phones in the first quarter reached $88, which is a five percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $151 in the first quarter of 2010, which is a three percent decrease over the previous year.

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Latest Motorola Droid?

It appears Motorola is getting ready to launch the next version of its "Droid" device, called by some the "X," by others the "Shadow." It reportedly features a metal frame, as the iPhone 4 does. The Droid "Xtreme" supposedly features a 4.3-inch screen, as does the HTC Evo, has "HDMI Out,"  as does the Evo, but will ship with Android 2.1, a new version of Motoblur, and a 750Mhz OMAP processor, unlike the 1-GHz processor the Evo ships with.

You might get an argument about screen size. Some argue the X will have a larger screen than the Evo. It doesn't sound like that will be the case, though (not that a 4.3-inch screen is inadequate by any means). Some think the X will have a larger screen than the Evo, but so far the leaks suggest a same-size screen.

Some worry about the overall size of the device, but I haven't noticed the Evo is a problem in the pocket. Lots of people seem to be more adept at typing on a smaller screen, but I'm not one of them, so the larger screen helps when doing data entry. Others notice the heft of the device, as is true of the Motorola Droid, or Incredible. I also don't find that to be an issue.

But that's the whole point of having lots of devices with different form factors, isn't it? We all get to pick devices that make different design trade-offs.

Online Ads Will Overtake Newspapers by 2014

PriceWaterhouseCoopers says online advertising will become the second-largest advertising medium in the United States, after television, within the next four years, and will increase by over $10 billion in that same time frame.

Online advertising will increase from $24.2 billion in 2009 to $34.4 billion in 2014 to overtake newspapers which will continue to lose ad revenue over the next four years, falling from $24.82 billion in 2009 to $22.3 billion in 2014.

That explains the interest firms such as News Corp. have in e-book readers.

Report predicts online advertising spending will increase by $10 Billion in next 4 years

Free Phones from T-Mobile on June 19

T-Mobile USA plans to give free phones to customers who sign up for group calling plans at its retail stores on Saturday June 19, 2010,  just days before rival At&T will start selling Apple's latest iPhone. Starting at 8 a.m., new customers will be able to get as many as five free handsets of their choice by signing up for a "family plan," which is a calling plan that has at least two users.

Current T-Mobile customers can convert a single-user plan into a family plan by adding at least one user, or adding lines to a family plan they already have. Customers using that option can get up to five free phones with a single family plan, though each will come with a two-year contract.

The promotion includes T-Mobile's newest smart phones running Google Inc.'s Android operating software, such as the HTC myTouch 3G Slide, which usually sells for $180 with a two-year contract and rebate, and Garminfone, which usually costs $200 with a two-year contract and rebate.

U.S. Smartphone Penetration Climbs to 20 Percent

Smartphone penetration in the United States has grown from 11 percent of mobile subscribers in April 2009 to more than 20 percent in April 2010, nearly doubling in just one year. The total number of smartphone subscribers now totals more than 48 million.

The biggest player in the smartphone market remains RIM, with more than 40 percent share of smartphone subscribers. Apple is second with 25 percent share of mobile subscribers, up from 20 percent in April 2009.

Apple’s market share has stabilized at 25 percent in recent months. Google’s Android platform in April 2010 captured 12 percent market share, up from just three percent six months ago. Android is inching closer to the number-three spot currently held by Microsoft at 15 percent, and could overtake Microsoft in a few months.

Americans Get “Smart”: iPhone, Android and the Accelerating Adoption of Smartphones (comScore Voices)

Verizon Wireless LTE Coverage Will Match 3G by 2013

Verizon Wireless says it is on track to complete its fourth-generation wireless network by by 2013, at which point the Long Term Evolution coverage map will match it's current 3G coverage. The company still plans to launch commercially in 25 to 30 markets in 2010, covering 100 million people.

Verizon Wireless: LTE on track and coverage to match 3G by 2013 | LteWorld