50 billionth App downloaded

On Thursday, Apple reached the awesomeness of 50 billion downloads from their App Store.

That’s 7 Apps per humanoid on this planet.

If Bill Gates bought every single download for one dollar… well he’d still have 17 Billion dollars left.

If every App did cost $1, you could use this note to pay for them-

Just kidding! ( Sorry Zimbabwe…)

If only one person per year was allowed to download an App, then it would really suck.

The earth is slowly receding from the moon, and will continue to do so for another 50 billion years. Take that Apps.

Anyway. Some facts for you :

The Apple store started off in July 2008 with a pitiful, measly-assed 500 apps available to download. Now there are more than 800,000.

In March 2012,  there were 25 Billion downloads from the App store. We’ve doubled it in just over a year.

The 50 billionth download was a game called  “Say The Same Thing” by Space Inch. It was free, and downloaded by a dude in Ohio, who now receives a  $10,000 App Store Gift Card. THAT’S SO MANY APPS.

According to Apple at the beginning of May, here are the top 5 paid and free Apps ( for iPhone) as per download popularity.

Paid

-Angry Birds

-Fruit Ninja

-Doodle Jump

-Cut The Rose

-Angry Bird Seasons

Free:

-Facebook

-Pandora Radio

-Instagram

-YouTube

-Skype

Us kids sure love games, huh. Speaking of which, the last app we downloaded was Mushroom Wars. Awesome, fun and challenging game known from Playstation- check it out, free from the App store (D’uh) but keep in mind you’ll be soon wanting to make one of those in App purchases in order to play it more!

So, 50 Billion Apps. There you go.

Images courtesy of Wired.com and CNN reflectively. 

iOS 7 Testing

In the lead up to WWDC, beginning June 10th in San Francisco, the guys over at Apple have been working their little butts off to get OSX 10.9 and in particular iOS 7 software updates ready and perfect before announcing them both at the conference.

After the debacle of Maps last year (press inflated or not), the dude in charge, Jony Ive, is stealing people from the OS X team to work on iOS 7 instead, and making everyone work double time if all reports are true.

What is also happening is a large amount of real time testing using the updated software- both on iPhones and iPads.

Companies in the tech industry, such as Macrumors and Onswipe have both noticed that since the beginning of May, there have been spikes in visits to both their sites and their partner sites from devices with Apple’s block of IP addresses; devices using iOS 7.

The devices are being tested in Cupertino and San Francisco, with 75% visiting from iPhones.

This means that Apple is in the final testing phases for the software update, which is proposed to have a major redesign with a flatter, non-skeuomorphic interface. Good news us, not so much for those predicting that Jony Ive wouldn’t make it to WWDC with a previewable product!

WWDC, is only a few days away! ( 24 totally counts as a few. Yessir.)

Image courtesy of  igeeksblog.com

Today is Google Day

Today is all about Google!

We realize that there is a lot of things in the world that are all about Google, but today Google had there big meeting thingy ( The 6th Annual Google I/O Developer Conference in San Francisco).

As always, we’re here to tell you all the things you might need to know, and all the things you didn’t even know you needed to know! (About new Google products and updates).

Frankly, it’s a lot of words, so we’ve organized it into bite sized, coffee break readable, lovely little Googly parcels of information.

Enjoy!

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

The conference continues over the next three days, so we’ll be sure to keep you updated with all the goings on!

Image courtesy of Mashable.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

So, Google has this thing called Hangouts, available to Google + users, where a group of people (up to ten) can get together in an online ‘place’ and video chat, for free, with the option to share Youtube clips.

The program started online, and grew to iOS and Android usability.

Now, it’s been updated to a standalone App with integrated video, chat and multimedia sharing that many think (and Google hopes) is going to be a force in the video & chat industry- up against Skype, Facetime, iMessenger, Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, etc.

According to Google:

“Today we’re launching a stand-alone version of Hangouts that combines text, photos and live video across Android, iOS and your computer.

Now that Hangouts spans modalities and devices, you can finally fuhgeddaboudit (the technology, that is), and focus on what really matters: creating lasting relationships. And that, we think, is a plus.”

I’m not sure what kind of relationships they think we should be creating, but, with most video chat products, it has the potential to be an excellent way to sustain relationships, from business meetings to family get togethers’, to taking shots with your buddies in the Australian outback.

In Hangouts, you have the ability to save your video chats in the cloud with multi-user access, (which can also be turned off). This could serve business and family video interaction well, possibly less useful for the inter-country shot takers out there amongst us.

Here at iPhone Antidote, we’re pretty partial to Skype, so we’ll be testing this app pretty thoroughly over the next few days ( shots anyone?).

We’ll let you know how Hangouts stacks up against the loyal favorite!

You will need a Google account to participate ( which you will upgrade to Google + upon setup of the App). Check it out for free from the App store, Google Play and the Chrome Web Store.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Engadget.

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

This summer, Google will be releasing a new version of Google Maps, as well as an App for the iPad. The update aims to be ‘fully interactive and tailored to you’. Nice.

Google intends to do this by including the ability to see ratings and read reviews from Zagat when searching for restaurants, as well as gaining access to coupons and discounts for retailers such as Starbucks through Google Offers.

Within the app, you will have the option to ‘star’ a location on your map or write a review, which the map will remember and create ‘smart’ recommendations based on this activity.

The update includes access to live traffic information, with alerts of traffic incidents and dynamic re-routing capability, making sure you always get to work on time. Um…winning? Also helpful for getting home on time. Winning.

The new version will have an updated design as well as added functionality, with edge-to-edge maps on screen, as well as the addition of their new ‘Earth View’ which takes what’s great about Google Earth and places it nicely into Google Maps. 3D greatness, that is. Like our eyes.

This Summer will also bring about the Google Maps App for the iPad, which includes a feature called ‘Experience’ which is basically an indoor version of maps, in case you’re one of those ‘I get lost in shopping center’s kind of people’, which… there’s nothing wrong with. Just saying.
You can sign up now through your Google account if you want to try the new Google Maps on your computer, ( or, wait, be invited to try it I should say), but you’ll have to wait until Summer to try the redesigned mobile Apps and the iPad App.

We’ve asked for an invitation. We’ll let you know how it goes!

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Image courtesy of cnet.com

3. Google Play Music All Access

Google has today launched it’s new music subscription service, Google Play Music All Access, which (apart from being an annoyingly long name) is apparently aimed squarely at Spotify’s place in the market.

The service, like Spotify and others, aims to provide songs on demand that can be streamed to a computer, tablet or mobile device.

It’s built on the existing Google Play Music Store and recommends songs based on user preference, and then guiding the user towards similar music they might not have discovered yet.

You also have the ability to store 20,000 of your own tracks in the cloud alongside the All Access tracks.

Here’s the tricky part- Google think of this as a premium service and there is no free tier- it will cost $9.99 per month. Worth it? Maybe. Luckily you can check it out for yourself with a 30 day free trial.

If you get in early, Google is offering a discount if you begin the free trial by June 30. Those keen enough will pay just $7.99 per month.

Go to google.com/music and you’ll be invited to sign up if you’re keen!

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo Courtesy of Macrumors. 

4. Google Play Game Services

Another product released by Google today, with the very real intention of knocking another product out of top place, is Google Play Game Services (another annoyingly long name, get catchier Google!).

This one is designed to compete with Apple’s Game Center with the promise of integrating your gaming experience across all platforms and devices.

Available on Android, iOS and the web, the center has leaderboards, the ability to save to cloud, and real-time game playing against multiple users, ( this part- not so much available on iOS yet, sorry folks).

You can sign in using Google + the program will track your scores and saves across a range of devices.

The Google Play Game Service is available today across a smattering of games.

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Venturebeat

5. Updates and the future of the Google Search Engine.

Today, Google previewed what they are building in terms of the future of their search engine. As they correctly observe, people don’t communicate or gain knowledge based on key words. A lot of the time, its based on spoken, flowing, sentence based communication.

So this is what they’re working on. They see us in the future, asking (aloud) our computer/tablet/mobile/shoephone questions such as, “What is the weather like in San Francisco?”

Alongside the spoken and correct answer they see the search engine already creating answers to follow up questions, like the weather in other places nearby, how long it would take to drive to San Francisco, traffic conditions, event information etc.

Google is also building their ‘Knowledge Graph’ which as of today means that answers to your searches on Google will drastically improve if you speak Polish, Turkish, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese.

Your searches will also include more in-depth answers to questions.

Their example- ” What is the population of Canada?”

This search, as of today, will not only be answered by a number, but the history of Canada’s population growth and the ability to compare populations with other countries.

More information in the world, more knowledge in the world, can only be a good thing. Happy searching!

…Except for us. iPhone Antidote might just have Googled ourselves out for the day. We’ve been Googlified.  Now where are those shots?

1. Google Hangouts (Integrated, multi- platform video & chat product)

2. Google Maps update and iPad App

3. Google Play Music All Access

4. Google Play Game Services

5. Updates and the future of the Google search engine.

Photo courtesy of Moxieinteractive.

Bidding War for Sprint

Sprint, America’s number three wireless carrier is in the middle of a bidding war for 70% of their corporation.

In October last year Japanese company SoftBank announced that it was lodging a 20.1 billion dollar bid to buy a 70% stake in Sprint Nextel, with the intention post-sale that Sprint would remain a separate entity within SoftBank.

Sprint agreed on the sale, and the deal was expected to be finalized in the second quarter of this year. Unexpectedly jumping in on the deal and essentially starting a bidding war is Dish Network Coorporation ( America’s second biggest satellite TV provider).

On April 15th, Dish offered a counter bid of 25.5 Billion Dollars. So… more money pretty much always wins, right?

Not always. In this particular situation, the choice is made more complicated by the future intentions of both SoftBank and Dish- what can they offer Sprint apart from the original bid price?

SoftBank, a Tokyo based company, has advised investors since the opposing Dish bid that they have the intention- and the ability – to ensure Sprint $3 billion in annual operating savings by 2017.  They have also advised that once merged, the companies will be able to cut Sprint’s capital spending by 32 percent to 36 percent.

Dish’s bid is attractive because of the size of it- a few extra billion dollars does go a long way. Dish posted their first quarter revenue results recently and it showed what seems to be a slowing market- which means that Dish is super keen to use Sprint to expand into the mobile phone industry.

Dish would also want the two companies to merge their marketing and other business teams in order to save money, purportedly around 11 billion dollars, but according to sources familiar with the proposed deal there are those at Sprint who are uncomfortable with this, and unsure of Dish’s ability to guarantee financing for the 9 billion dollars it needs to secure the bid.

Both Dish and SoftBank have come out fighting, with SoftBank going so far as to try to force investment banks not to finance Dish’s bid, threatening no role in the upcoming IPO of Alibaba, a company of which they have one third ownership.

Whoever they go with, Sprint is looking to return to profitability after it’s 2005, 36 Billion dollar purchase of Nextel communications which led to billions of dollars of debt. The extra bid from Dish has excited investors with a rise in Sprint’s share prices by 1.4 percent, and there are many who are expecting the bidding war to rage on way into the second quarter.

We’ll keep you up to date with whoever has the winning bid- and what that means for you if you are a sprint customer ( We’re cautiously predicting only good things btw).

Image courtesy of Forbes.

Some Tuesday Afternoon Stats

Comcast, the people who know whatsup in measuring the tech world, recently released a report measuring ( among other things) key trends in the US smartphone industry.

The report, done by comScore MobiLens, ranked the smartphone leaders using statistics garnered from the first 3 months of this year, otherwise known as the first quarter.

Unsurprisingly for us, but perhaps for some, Apple remain strong in their grasp on the leadership of the Smartphone industry, with 39% of the device market share and with continual quarterly gains.

This means that out of the 136.7 million people in the US that own smartphones, 39% own Apple iPhones, with Samsung coming into second place with 21.7% market share, HTC were third with 9%, Motorola with 8.5% and LG had 6.8%.

Google Android might be taking over the smartphone world not according to Apple though, with 52% of the platform market share.

So… this means that two companies, Apple and Google, control 91% of the total smartphone market. A little scary. Let’s just try and keep those two apart shall we? With rulers. Really, really big rulers.

p.s Go Apple!

Photo courtesy of ZDnet