Apple Leads Smartphone Installed Base, Android Leads in Share

According to November data from The Nielsen Company, the popularity of the Android operating system among those who purchased a smartphone in the last six months (40 percent) makes it the leading OS in terms of market share, defined as new sales. Apple still leads in terms of installed base.

But despite its surge among recent acquirers, when it comes to overall installed base of users, Android OS (25.8 percent) is still behind Apple iOS (28.6 percent). RIM Blackberry’s position is less clear: Its share (26.1 percent) puts it within the margin of error of both Apple iOS and Android.

Apple Leads Smartphone Race, while Android Attracts Most Recent Customers | Nielsen Wire

10 Huge Companies That Facebook Is Now Worth More Than

Facebook's recent investment from Goldman Sachs gives it a valuation of $50 billion, which makes it bigger, in terms of valuation, than Starbucks.

Facebook is worth more than United, American, Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest Airlines combined (About $32 billion combined market cap.

Valuations are what they are. But comparisons like this remind me of the Internet bubble at the turn of the century. Scary.

10 Huge Companies That Facebook Is Now Worth More Than

Facebook Worth $50 Billion?

Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs and a Russian investor in a deal that values the company at $50 billion, according to the New York Times.

The deal makes Facebook now worth more than companies like eBay, Yahoo and Time Warner.

Goldman Invests in Facebook at $50 Billion Valuation - NYTimes.com

Wi-Fi Could Drive VPN or Mobile Broadband Demand

Firesheep allows anyone with a Firefox browser to hijack the sessions of anyone on the same Wi-Fi network using a few dozen popular content, commerce, and social-networking sites by snarfing cookies that pass in the clear.

A virtual private network connection that encrypts all data is the most-secure form of protection, but most people don't buy such service, which retails for $40 to $70 a month. Beyond that, Secure Socket Layer protection for email and HTTPS Everywhere for web browsing are helpful.

If a user wants security, and is willing to pay $40 to $70 a month, some of us might say "why bother?" with Wi-Fi and just buy a mobile broadband service. All the other tools to protect email and web browsing are available no matter what the connection, and a mobile broadband connection is arguably more secure than any public Wi-Fi connection is.

How to stay safe at a public Wi-Fi hotspot

How Userful is Groupon?

How useful is Groupon, for people who aren't so attuned to the game of "finding deals?"

Amazon iHTC EVO Shift 4G is Coming

Touchscreen interfaces generally are well received by end users, but there are just some activities that seem to work better when a QWERTY keyboard also is available. So many users who might like the HTC Evo and other touchscreen devices might want to take a look at the HTC Evo Shift, which adds a keyboard.

Amazon is gearing up for sales already, though pre-orders apparently aren't possible, yet. Apparently devices will cost $200 when bundled with a two-year contract. And for those who prefer the no-contract route, the device will cost $500.

Amazon is teasing the yet to be officially announced HTC EVO Shift 4G

Why Use SIP Trunking?

Saving money and simplifying communications are the traditional reasons for adoting SIP trunking. The actual business cases tends to vary quite a lot, though, based on an organization's readiness to use IP telephony and the existing level of tariffs any organization already is paying.

SIP trunking eliminates the need to purchase dedicated ISDN gateways when a premises IP telephony system is connected to the wide area voice networks. In addition, the services more flexible in terms of use of "channels" and bandwidth.

Some will argue that eliminating overhead and processing improves performance. In practice, one doesn't hear end users mentioning that advantage very much. It normally comes down to "can you save me money?"

The Growth of SIP Trunking Solutions