Android Number One in China: 90% of Chinese Market Now Using Android Devices

Outside of North America and Europe, China represents the next frontier for profits where smartphones are concerned. The competition is fierce and just like here in the West, it seems to be an all-out slug fest.

The two biggest players are of course Android and Apple’s iOS but the clear winner so far—and by a wide margin—is Android. A new report into mobile OS composition in China has shed some light on just how fast Google has managed to embed Android into the smartphone-consciousness of the Chinese. In 2011 Google had just 58.2% of the Chinese smartphone market—by the 3^rd quarter of 2012 that figure had jumped to 83% of the market.

Now, according to data released by Analysys International, Android’s total share of the Chinese mobile market is now a staggering 90.1%–an almost complete lockout of anyone else.

Android winning the zero sum game

If Android has 90.1% of the market then it means companies like Apple are fighting over a meager 9.9% market share. The data showed that iOS saw a slight drop in its share from 6% to 4.2%. Nokia had the biggest decline, falling from 6% to a very paltry 2.4% of the overall market share. Analysts have lamented Nokia position especially given that just a few years ago, the Chinese mobile market was dominated by Nokia. But such is the changing tide and right now, companies like Nokia and Apple can only watch as the little green robot charms its way into the hearts and minds of people in China.

A lot of people might be wondering why Android is so dominant but the quick and easy answer is that its dominance is tied to its ubiquity on a broader range of devices. Anyone in China who wants to own an iOS powered device can only go to Apple; Android enthusiast can chose between HTC, Samsung—even knockoff phones, which by many accounts are all powered by Android. But it’s not just smartphones that give Android the edge, the OS is also present on tablet and this has largely helped to push use of Android devices in the last 6 months in China.

When Apple does get the iPhone 5 to go on sale over there, it might have some success in clawing back market share but it won’t be by much. If many people in the U.S. and Europe are struggling to buy the iPhone 5, then the struggle will be an even greater one in China.

For now Google is winning—even if its services are heavily filtered by the Chinese government, its hardware is still the platform upon which local mobile device sales are built. Could this a leverage point for Google in getting more access to China? Quite possibly, but so far the search giant has been reluctant to try its luck in this regard.

One thing is certain and that is the fact that at this rate of growth, Google’s Android will be the only player in the Chinese marketplace in the coming couple of years.

Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/16/android-number-one-in-china-90-of-chinese-market-now-using-android-devices/

Mozilla Made $163 Million Last Year – From Google!

Mozilla is doing pretty well for a non-profit; in fact, things have got better for Mozilla since 2010 and much of that has been tied largely to the fortunes of Google. This is hard to believe that one of Mozilla’s creations, Firefox, is a direct competitor for Google Chrome. But such are the strange relationships and symbioses in tech that it’s hardly surprising.

In terms of actual numbers, Mozilla saw revenues in 2011 of $163 million—a 33% increase on the $123 million it made in 2010. Google continues to power much of that revenue growth with a 85% contribution to overall earnings.

Search contracts are lucrative

Mozilla and Google have had their differences, but the one thing that Mozilla has kept sight of is Google’s importance to the non-profit. The lucrative deal that sees Google being the default search engine in Firefox has helped Mozilla stay afloat for years and renewal of that contract last year is only proof that without Google, Firefox, may not even exist.

Since Mozilla has no direct way of charging people to use its products, these partnerships are important. The non-profit has similar search deals with Microsoft’s Bing, but the largest chunks of its users prefer Google. Other areas of the Mozilla operation rely heavily on Google too; many of the Foundation’s products are tied heavily into search and the “powered by Google” tag is very much present.

Mozilla helping to shape the free web

The fact that the Mozilla Foundation makes money at all will be seen with scepticism but that would be unfair. The level of programming and development that goes into all of the free products pushed out by the company has to be funded in some way. What perhaps should be lauded is Mozilla’s commitment to the free and open web. The partnership with Google is perhaps necessary act on Mozilla’s part.

There are few products and services on the web that are as unfettered as Firefox and Thunderbird; throw in the fact that both compete with heavily commercialized products and you can see just how effective and productive Mozilla has been in promoting its philosophy.

Mozilla Chair, Mitchell Baker believed that the Foundation will continue to be a big part of the free web moving forward: “after 20 years of developing the Web, we can now see how the Web can make yet another leap in its usefulness, fun, business opportunities and social benefit.”

Mozilla detractors should focus on helping the foundation stay relevant. The last few years has seen a massive erosion of use of Mozilla’s products and Firefox now sits behind Internet Explorer and Google Chrome—both are built to make money and the more and more they erode Firefox’s market share, the less free the web will be. If Bakers’ vision is to hold fast, it is going to take a lot of effort from users and anyone who has a vested interest in keeping a place on the web for non-commercial endeavors.

Do you think it cynical that Mozilla make as profit each year from its non-profit work? Share your thoughts below.

Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/16/mozilla-made-163-million-last-year-%E2%80%93-from-google/

Publishers CTR: More clicks from Opera and Safari Users

Your browsing habits say so much about you, but the browser that you use also gives some powerful insights into who you are a person. Firefox users for instance, are heavy customizers and like to make things their own; Internet Explorer users are very parochial and stuck in their ways; Chrome users are lovers of simplicity—I could go on but I am sure you get the point.

Advertisers tap into these idiosyncrasies in order to make money and the latest findings into how much the different browser user clicks on ads will some fuel to the debate over browser CTR and ad-efficiency. Online advertising network, Chitika compiled some handy which gave some surmising insights into which browser gives advertisers the most clicks for their buck when targeting both mobile and regular users.

The big surprise

If you had to guess which browser was most efficient at delivering clicks, you’d probably go with Internet Explorer or Google Chrome on the strength of their tremendous market share. But you’d be wrong—very wrong. According to the data compiled by Chitika, the most efficient browser for delivering ad-clicks is Opera.

According to Chitika, hundreds of millions of impressions were looked at for US and Canadian users and from every perspective, Opera led the field with a 2.12% CTR. It was followed closely by Safari mobile with a CTR of 1.54%. Third was Internet Explorer (1.14%); followed by Android browser in fourth place with 0.81%. Safari figured twice in the compilation and showed up again in fifth position with a CTR of 0.80%. Perhaps the biggest surprises on the list were Firefox and Chrome which took 6^th and 7^th position respectively with CTRs of 0.68% and 0.54%.

Safari browser users have a penchant for the complex

I say ‘complex’ because Chitika also took a look at the average query length—i.e. the number of keywords that made up a search. On average Safari users typed in 5.08 words per query WPQ); this number went up even further for Safari mobile with an average query length of 5.17. Safari’s closest competitor in this regard was Firefox with an average query length of 5.05 WPQ; it was followed closely by Chrome on iOS with a query length of 4.84.

The larger question here I suppose is why despite having such a small share of the browser market, does Opera have such high CTRs? The answer is not straightforward or scientific, but one suggestion is that the fact that Opera has fewer integrated ad-blockers, more and more advertising is able to get through. One other possible explanation being bandied about is screen size; some people believe that users are more likely to ‘accidentally’ click on a banner or text ad on their smartphone as opposed to their desktop computer.

Whatever the explanation, the Chitika study will almost certainly anchor the efforts of advertisers and web developers. Opera and Safari are in a way, niche browsers but more and more they are becoming mainstream. Developers and advertisers therefore will ride the wave of use until they become too cluttered and inefficient—much like the large mainstream browsers.

Do you click on ads depending on the browser you are using at the time? Share your thoughts on the Chitika findings using the comments below.

http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/12/chitika-more-clicks-opera-safari-ctr-publisher/

Bringing the World of Web Closer to You with PositiveProjections

Every company needs web presence. Whether you are selling a service, a product, or are an avid blogger, your website is your vehicle for “getting out there.” This means not only does your site need good content, visual appeal, and have ease of use, but it should remain meaningful to you while distinguishing you from your competitor. In a day and age where nearly everyone turns to the Internet to find out more, you do not want to remain obscure or hidden from your viewers.

For over 17 years, PositiveProjections.com has been helping people—individuals, small business owners, not for profit organizations—establish their web identity using successful web design. There are a several elements of Positive Projections’ approach to web design that clients have come to appreciate. For example, by “matching” the site to the industry or type of business, visitors can more easily relate. A restauranteur’s website will have a different look and feel to that for a hardware store. An entrepreneur will require a different approach than a charitable foundation. Making it personable is an important part of the design process.

Websites created by Positive Projections are also self-manageable, empowering the site owners to update the text and images easily. To ensure this ease of use, the company includes training screencasts with an optional support follow-up service.

It is also essential to design the sites to be user friendly. Visitors to a Positive Projections’ website find the site easily through the company’s strategic “ranking” method with search engines. Once there, navigation is simple and sensible. For the smartphone users, the sites feature a mobile web function. To remain sociable, Facebook and Twitter sharing is established, and to further engage visitors, site owners can also consider YouTube.com or Vimeo.com additions.

What if you already have a website, but it’s time for a facelift? Change is good. Change can inspire not only the site owner, but visitors too. This is why Positive Projections assess websites to determine possible improvements. It could be one or two minor areas, or perhaps an entire overhaul. Areas of considerations include:

• how attractive is the site?
• is it easy for visitors to use?
• is the site organized efficiently?
• has the site’s outcome(s) met its purpose(s)?

Positive Projections also evaluates the site’s SEO techniques to asses whether or not optimal ranking is achieved.

Website remodeling also considers the speed of the web host. Inefficiency here can drive visitors away. To ensure reliable and efficient web hosting, Positive Projections also established its own web hosting service. For more than a decade, the company’s own websites, along with clients’, run off a server of optimal performance. The reliability is something clients have come to depend on. A server hosting 300 sites as compared to the same server hosting 2,000 means not only do the sites maintain expected operation, but security benefits are in place.

Bringing personalized service and dependable results has allowed Positive Projections to build an impressive portfolio of web design and web remodeling projects. For this company success is about helping you find your place in the world of web

http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/13/web-hosting-positive-projections-news/

Twitter hacked? Prevent twitter, facebook, gmail accounts being hacked

The hacking of accounts, whether it be Paypal, Twitter, Gmail, Hotmail, Pinterest or practically any online application, is nothing new. Today it is thought that Twitter may have been hacked. Big names like TechCrunch and several other users who were possibly hacked would have received the following message from the company:

“Twitter believes that your account may have been compromised by a website or service not associated with Twitter. We’ve reset your password to prevent others from accessing your account,”

Why hackers consider Twitter worthy of their attention?

In the Obama campaign, Google plus has had less support than Romney in the election, now that is pretty low percentage wise! So Twitter is “the in thing” and has enjoyed tremendous publicity. People charge money, known as “pay per tweet” in order to send messages to followers – hence when hackers control popular accounts even for as little as 2 hours, they can profit by using it as a marketing tool, without the permission of it’s lawful owner.

How to avoid getting hacked on Twitter:

1. Change of passwords: Consider changing your password after logging in from a public computer or any device that is not your own. People can run key loggers in the background, meaning that every character being typed, is effectively recorded and stored, without the user realising it, this is how passwords are captured.
2. Hackers have other methods of accessing your computer via the internet and can also record keywords – hence it is a good idea in principle to change passwords frequently even if using the same device.
3. Big companies like Twitter, Google, Microsoft for example may have excellent security measures in place, however they are not infallible: That is what hackers do – they find ways of breaching internet security and can target the best of the best.
4. It is advisable to always make sure that the correct site is on display in the title bar when entering passwords. Hackers are smart, they may create domains which appear to be very similar to that of the target. If the target is “twitter.com” they would create a domain, for example, called “twiter.com” or “twitters1.com” or in the case of “gmail.com” they could use names such as “gma1l.com”. They would effectively create something rather similar to the target – and when user fatigue set’s in, amongst frequent users – they can collect the details of our passwords.

The same principles that are used to hack Twitter and others, can also be used to gather credit card details. The popularity of Twitter will be a great publicity stunt for governments who’d like to accelerate global governance and a new world order: They will not insist on it – it will be us, the people, who’d cry out for the protection of the governments and they will conveniently “save us” with an enhanced ID solution, watch this space!

4 Million Windows 8 Licenses Sold in 3 Days – Could Steve Ballmer Be Right?

Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer has made a bold prediction about the sales projections for Windows 8: “400 million Windows 8 installations by the end of 2013”.

The thing is, before you reach 400 million, you at least have to pass 4 million and by the looks of things, Windows 8 might just meet Ballmer’s perdition. So far the numbers look healthy. Speaking at Microsoft’s BUILD 2012 conference, the spirited CEO revealed that in the first 3 days alone, the company has sold more than 4 million licenses of Windows 8.

Three day metrics very important

Selling 4 million copies in 3 days is significant because if Ballmer’s prediction is to hold up, Microsoft will need to keep shifting licenses at the same daily rate. With just 2 months left in 2012 and a full complement in 2013, Microsoft can easily meets its 400 million target if things stay at the same rate.

Microsoft of course is competing with Apple who released OS X Mountain Lion back in July. During its early launch Apple sold only 3 million in 4 days—those numbers weren’t as strong as Microsoft but Apple still reported healthy projections. By that standard then, Microsoft is certainly on the right track.

Analysts believe that Microsoft overall base being larger than Apple’s, puts the company in good stead to at least ramp up sales in the coming weeks.

OEM will give Windows 8 a push

Microsoft naturally cannot rely on just upgrades alone if it is to meet its target–new computers will have to do some of the heavy lifting. In this regard Ballmer was happy to reveal that so far “tens of millions” of the new operating system has 

been snapped up by the company’s OEM partners. Big-name PC makers like Dell and HP have already unveiled their new line of windows 8 computers. With the holiday shopping season almost here, both manufactures (and others) should see strong sales of new PCs. “We are excited about what we are seeing from initial sales and it looks to be good,” said John Solomon, senior VP of HP’s Printing and Personal Systems.

The one thing that might irk would-be buyers of machines with Windows 8 installed is the fact that new laptops which take full advantage of Windows 8’s touch features will be pricey. HP plans to sell a range of devices and its offerings have been reported to start at $700. Considering that the average laptop buyer operates at the low end price points, OEMs might struggle to shift many licenses built into these systems. And that of course will present a pricing dilemma.

Windows 8 and its quirks

Microsoft has over 600 million people running Windows 7 and a large chunk of the 4 million licenses sold would have been people taking advantage of their $39.99 and $14.99 offer. That’s a lot of people and pretty soon the feedback on the operating system will be gathering momentum. Already there is talk among some users that Windows 8 is not suited for a desktop environment and many people are struggling to get to grips with it. On top of that many of their old programs don’t work. All these quirks means that Microsoft had better hope that the feedback doesn’t dent future sales.

It’s early days and perhaps too soon to predict whether Ballmer is wrong about the sales of Windows 8. Perhaps in another few weeks the projected numbers can take on better clarity.

Have you tried the new Windows? Let us know how you are fining the new metro interface by using the comments below.

Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/11/01/4-million-windows-8-licenses-sold-in-3-days-%E2%80%93-could-steve-ballmer-be-right/

Google Releases Brand New YouTube App For The iPhone 5

Google may be direct competitor to Apple on some fronts, but this doesn’t mean the search giant is reluctant to capitalize on an opportunity when it presents itself. Fresh on news that Apple is to release the iPhone 5 shortly, Google has done nothing less than introduce a standalone YouTube app for the iPhone.

According to Google, the new app will be a major improvement on the one previously removed from iOS 6 and will include an improved channel guide; updated instant searches and recommendations as well as advanced options for social media sharing and interaction.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that Google is looking to make some money off the iPhone buzz that’s coming and so users of the new YouTube app will have to endure advertising while watching their favorite video. The new status quo was precipitated after Google and Apple failed to reach an agreement over the standard YouTube app that was bundled with previous versions of iOS. I guess Google wanted greater revenue control and the only way it seemed possible was to create its own app.

Apple on the other recognizes that its users won’t be happy if they can’t access YouTube via their iPhones and so allowing Google full latitude to create an app (albeit loaded with ads) was a compromise it had to make.

Ultimately it’s the users that will determine how the new YouTube app is received and in a few weeks from now, we shall know.

Source: http://www.sitetrail.com/2012/09/23/google-releases-brand-new-youtube-app-for-the-iphone-5/