While Android is winning the overall market share of smartphone OS, a study by mobile ad network Jumptap breaks down state by state where Google’s mobile platform remains king. READ MORE
It took Flickr, one of the world’s largest photo-sharing sites, close to 2.5 years to reach 150 million photos, which could be uploaded from any computer and shot on any camera. But it took San Francisco-based start-up Instagram roughly just nine months to hit that same milestone–with just one mobile app, available only on iOS, writes Austin Carr for Fast Company. READ MORE
As Apple switches to its new A6 chip next year, will the company merge its iOS operating system, used in iPads, iPhones and iPod Touches with the Mac OS X operating system (currently at version 10.7 or “Lion”)? READ MORE
If you’ve got an Android device you are 2.5 times more likely to encounter malware on it today compared to six months ago, while mobile users have a 30 percent chance of clicking on a malicious link, writes Elinor Mills for CNET, referring to a report released this week from mobile security firm Lookout at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. READ MORE
In its never-ending quest to control hardware it doesn’t own, Apple released a more secure version of iOS. According to Apple, the new 4.3.4 iOS addresses a security flaw that might have allowed “malicious code running as the user to gain system privileges,” according to Apple. READ MORE
If the rumors are true, Apple may be positioning itself to be the largest distributor of e-books in the world. BGR received a tip from an unproven source who claims that Apple is having internal discussions around purchasing Barnes & Noble, the largest book retailer in the U.S. READ MORE
Good news for fans of the little green robot: According to Nielsen, as of June, Android tops the U.S. smartphone OS market, grabbing a full 39 percent market share. Apple, its closest competitor, finished a distant second at 28 percent. Bringing up the rear are BlackBerry OS at 20 percent and Windows Phone 7 at 9 percent. On the hardware front, however, Apple still managed to retain the title of top manufacturer. In all fairness, Apple’s victory in this category is relatively easy since it is the only company to produce iOS devices; meanwhile, Android’s OS finds its way to devices made by Motorola, HTC, and Samsung. RIM, the makers of Blackberry, surprisingly finished a close second to Apple in the manufacturing department, commanding a 20 percent chunk of the market. Nielsen based its results on a sample of roughly 20,000 people, all of whom are postpaid customers. Read more from TechCrunch.
In what some are calling a “game changer,” Research in Motion has decided to turn its BlackBerry Messenger (BBM6) into a “social experience,” says cnet’s Jaymar Cabebe. This is much-needed news from a company that has had its share of troubles: in just a month, RIM has had an exec pen an anonymous public plea for change and the company announced that 2000 employees would be laid off. So what does this new announcement mean? For starters, BlackBerry developers, for whom work has been scarce lately, now have opportunities to develop a host of apps that provide users with social experiences they have come to expect on platforms such as iOS and Android. And it seems that services are willing to give RIM a shot. The company is working with Foursquare to let users update BBM statuses and TelMap, Wikitude, andHuffPo are now jumping on the BlackBerry bandwagon. Read more at cnet.
Considering that Apple and AT&T are reportedly prepping staff for a September launch of the iPhone 5, there couldn’t be a better time to report survey results that say 35 percent of consumers will buy Apple’s next generation smartphone. The survey, conducted by PriceGrabber, found that respondents want several things that would influence their purchasing decision: a better battery life, a lower cost, 4G network compatibility, a larger screen and an improved camera. READ MORE
If Nokia’s recent adventures in the smartphone market were a TV show, would it be Lost or Survivor?. The once-mighty handset maker has been experiencing some rough seas lately, as the market has shifted to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. READ MORE
