A New Mobile Majority

In March of 2012, a new mobile majority was established in the United States. It was reported that 50.4% of U.S. mobile subscribers owned a smartphone, up from 47.8% in December of 2011. It was a matter of time, but who knew it would be this soon? Nielsen reports that consumers purchasing new phones often chose smartphones over other options. Furthermore, among the top selling smartphones, Apple reined supreme, coming in as the number one smartphone manufacturer. Interestingly enough, although Apple was the number one smartphone manufacturer, Google’s Android operating system was the most popular smartphone OS.

Who are these smartphone consumers?

• In March 2012 50.9% of female mobile subscribers carried smartphones compared to 50.1% of men
• Consumers in the age group of 25-34 are more likely to consider multiple smartphones and more than 2 out of 3 in that age group have a smartphone
• Asian Americans have the highest smartphone adoption rate at 67.3% using them as their primary phone
• Almost 3 in 5 Hispanic mobile subscribers use smartphones, and a majority of African-Americans own smartphones.

Mobile Fridays 5/11/12

Facebook May Raise IPO Stock Prices

In previous weeks sources told us that Facebook was looking to bring in $10 billion via the sale of 337 million shares at $28-$35 each. Although Facebook has already stated that they don’t know how they will monetize nearly 500 million registered mobile users but will figure out the mobile space just like other tech industry giants. With access to so many different demographics and information about users, Facebook has many investors ready to purchase their stock. It is anticipated that Facebook will raise the share price ahead of the IPO, which may be as soon as next week.

Google Maps For Android Delivers Local Deals

This morning Google delivered an update for Google maps exclusive to Android users. The update consisted of a geo-specific daily deals offer that is now integrated into Google Maps. The Google Maps 6.7 for Android can be downloaded directly from the Google Play store. The 6.7 release will help users find offers from nearby businesses in the U.S. – everything from restaurants, to salons, to city tours. Another nifty feature they included was the indoor walking directions in the U.S. and Japan, plus 360-degree interior photos of businesses.

Google Play Hits 15 Billion App Downloads

On Sunday, it was announced that Google Play was on course to pass 15 billion app downloads, however, TechCrunch says the announced milestone is old news. In December, Google Play reached 10 billion downloads which means that an extra 5 billion downloads took place within Q1. Apple’s App Store leads the market currently with 600,000 apps while Google Play reportedly contains around 500,000 apps.

Apple Mapping Future OS Without Google

Earlier this year, Apple debuted a new iPhoto app for iOS devices that featured maps from a source that was not Google. And now…new reports are surfacing indicating that Apple may be planning on replacing Google Maps altogether in the next release of their new OS. It is also reported that trusted sources indicated that Apple will be ditching Google Maps for an Apple-built solution. The new Apple-based solution is designed to be similar to the current Google Maps program but is described as cleaner, faster, and more reliable.

Organic vs Non-Organic App Installs

In today’s app world, there is so much competition for developers that it is practically impossible for them to get their mobile app even noticed. In result, developers have found multiple ways to manipulate the app stores or beat the system in order to bring attention to their apps and drive downloads.
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Mobile Fridays 5/4/12

comScore Reports Show Android Even More Dominant in Smartphone Marketshare
On Tuesday, comScore published their latest reports, which took the average from the last three months up until the end of March 2012. The findings came as no shocker as Android remained supreme in the mobile OS battle between Android and iOS. The reports revealed that the U.S. smartphone market was dominated by 51% of users running the Android OS while just over 30% were running iOS. Not surprisingly, RIM came in third with 12.3% market share and Microsoft ranked fourth on the list with a 3.9% market share.
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TapIt!™ Adds Two Industry Thought Leaders to Advisory Board

TapIt!™ Mobile Advertising, one of the leading global mobile advertising platforms is proud to announce the addition of two industry thought leaders to its advisory board. Marketing and operations veteran Qayed Shareef along with systems technology expert Ian Mahaney will be advising TapIt!™ on strategy and scale due to the company’s rapid growth.
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Mobile Fridays 4/27/12

It’s time for Mobile Fridays where we update you with the latest news in the mobile space that has been released throughout the week!
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Employee Interview: Bill Alden

Cheerio Bill! Tell us a little about yourself and what you do here at TapIt!

My name is Bill Alden and I work as a Client Services Specialist in the Pub Dev Department at Tapit. In my capacity as the said title, I come across new people everyday and I enjoy every bit of it.
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Freemium Apps Make Developers Money!

The latest reports from The NPD Group titled “Insights into the Freemium Games Market” shows app developers that freemium gamers are willing to spend their hard earned money to keep themselves entertained. The report specifically points out that 4 out of 10 freemium gamers who have played an upgradable freemium game has confirmed making an in-game purchase to extend or enhance game play.
The NDP reports also found that among freemium gamers, females are the most likely to have played and downloaded them. Interestingly enough, women were found to be the least likely to pay for an upgrade. Industry analyst Anita Frazier of The NDP Group stated, “the majority of freemium gamers who opt to pay to upgrade their experience do so within the first month of playing a particular game… when designing a game, it’s important to consider features that would drive quick conversion to pay.”
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Mobile Fridays 4/20/12

It’s time for Mobile Fridays where we update you with the latest news in the mobile space that has been released throughout the week!
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Smartphones Changing The Way We Access Internet

With Internet playing such a large role in today’s world, it seems as though people always need to stay connected. Whether used for business, research, entertainment, or just to chat with friends, consumers are constantly accessing the Internet to keep up with every part of their lives. With 4G speeds and quick processors, smartphones are changing the way consumers are accessing the Internet.
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