About.com Web Trends

How Long Until Android Overtakes the iPhone?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:38 +0000

In the past six months, the iPhone's share of the smartphone market grew by 7%, going from 43% in April to 50% in October, according to the stats released by AdMob. In the same amount of time, Android went from 3% of the worldwide market to 11%, which means it actually outgrew the iPhone despite the release of the iPhone 3GS.

And in terms of web traffic, the Android is now producing 20% of the U.S. traffic, which is second behind the iPhone's 55%. The interesting statistic here is that the iPhone's share of web traffic actually decreased from 59% to 55% while Android's share almost tripled, going from 7% to 21%.

What does this mean?

It means Android is actually competing with iPhone as the smartphone of choice for those wanting to get on the web. And considering Android's growth, it's easy to say that it will become quite competitive with the iPhone in the next few years.

But will Android overtake the iPhone?

Probably. It might sound like blasphemy now, but Android has one of the same advantages that the IBM-compatible had over Apple in the desktop wars: it is an open platform. While Apple's strict control of the iPhone's hardware, operating system and app store will make it a very stable and easy-to-use environment, Android's open platform will make it much more viral in terms of spreading from smartphone manufacturer to smartphone manufacturer. And with an increased share of the market will come more and more developers, thus mimicking the iPhone's app store.

Of course, this doesn't mean the iPhone is going away. It will no doubt remain the cool smartphone. Just don't expect it to be the market leader forever.

How Long Until Android Overtakes the iPhone? originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 12:00:38.

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Google Chrome OS Details Unveiled at Event

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:22:47 +0000

Google held a Chrome OS event this morning, unveiling some more details about their browser-turned-operating system. The event confirmed a few features already being speculated about and drove home the goals of turning the web into a platform.

Google Chrome OS, which is aimed squarely at netbooks and cloud computing, is built on top of a Linux kernal, but don't expect it to run Linux applications. Google confirmed that the operating system would not run stand-alone applications. But that doesn't mean you'll have to be online to use it. While every application running on Chrome OS will be a web application, Google is pushing to make sure web apps are available offline as well as when you are connected to the Internet.

Google is also working with the other browser vendors in order to push up HTML 5's arrival date and make sure it contains key technologies and standards. Chief among these is the ability for browsers to access system resources directly, such as accessing the Graphics Processor Unit (GPU) in order to obtain better performance and make audio/video playback even smoother.

Google is also pushing for speed. Right now, it takes about 7 seconds to go from powered down to the log-in screen. After that, it takes about 3 seconds to be up and running. That's quite a bit faster than those of us with Windows 7 (and much, much faster than Vista), but Google is working to tune this even more.

The goal? With cloud computing coming on strong and HTML 5 inching towards standardization, web applications are quickly becoming as powerful as desktop applications. Combine a sleek, free and open operating system like Chrome OS with the inexpensive hardware of a netbook and you have a virtual workstation capable of doing much more than just browsing the news and checking email.

Chrome OS is expected to arrive sometime around the holiday season of 2010.

Google Chrome OS Details Unveiled at Event originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 15:22:47.

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Facebook Integration Goes Live on PS3

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:59:34 +0000

Just how far has Facebook penetrated? You can now integrate your PlayStation 3 with Facebook, allowing you to sync your trophies and brag to your friends about your gaming proficiency. You'll also be able to report on your recent PSN purchases, and in the future, games will be able to automatically update Facebook when you accomplish something cool within the game.

The PS3's integration with Facebook went live today with the 3.10 firmware update. This update also contains a new way to organize photos and customizable profile backgrounds.

Next up: Automatically tweet everything you do on your Xbox 360!

Check out the PlayStation 3 2009 Holiday Gift Guide.

Facebook Integration Goes Live on PS3 originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Thursday, November 19th, 2009 at 13:59:34.

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Microsoft Strives to Increase Performance in Internet Explorer 9

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:05:41 +0000

While Internet Explorer 8 is only eight months old, work has already started on Internet Explorer 9. The big focus on the next release is the same as IE8's focus: increased performance.

With Firefox slowly eating into its marketshare and Google's Chrome browser setting the new standard for speed on the web, Internet Explorer 7 was certainly looking more and more bloated and old. IE8 did a lot to increase the performance of Microsoft's browser, but it was still not nearly as fast as the competition.

And while the early build of Internet Explorer 9 isn't blazing past the competitors just yet, it certainly is cutting into their lead. IE9 is on par with Firefox 3.5 and a shade slower than Firefox 3.6, which is still in beta.

In addition to tuning the performance, Internet Explorer 9 will support DirectX, which means the browser will be able to use the graphics processor to share the load when rendering graphics, freeing up the CPU for other tasks. Not only will this help out in the performance department, it should also make fonts and graphics more visually appealing.

Check out the blog entry on IE9.

Microsoft Strives to Increase Performance in Internet Explorer 9 originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 16:05:41.

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How to Find Black Friday Deals on the Web

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:20:20 +0000

As we inch closer to Black Friday, we are already seeing some pretty good promotions being offered. I just saw a 42" plasma HDTV being offered for $499.99 that was very tempting despite the fact that I have no need for a television at this time. And we're just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

So how to keep up with all the deals? That's where DealTaker comes into the picture. DealTaker is a website that collects all of the best deals from the community and puts them in one place. And in anticipation of Black Friday, they have a page dedicated to Black Friday advertisements.

Check out the DealTaker Black Friday page.

More tips for getting the best deals on Black Friday.

How to Find Black Friday Deals on the Web originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 12:20:20.

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While News Corp Pulls Out of Google, European Newspapers May Be Headed to Bing

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:33:05 +0000

After hinting about it a few days ago, News Corp. has laid out a timeline for pulling their content out of Google within the next few months. The move towards a fee-based model follows on the heels of Rupert Murdoch's announcement that they would charge iPhone and Blackberry users to access content through the popular Wall Street Journal mobile apps.

Smart move?

Jonathan Miller, News Corp's chief digital officer, contends that the economic impact of not being indexed by Google is not as great as some might think. "The traffic which comes in from Google brings a consumer who more often than not read one article and then leaves the site. That is the least valuable traffic to us..."

Of course, most newspaper websites are poorly designed when it comes to raising the average time a visitor spends on the site. While many content sites concentrate on turning that one Google-based page view into multiple page views by linking to relevant content within an article, newspapers often avoid this technique in favor of presenting a wall of text.

The move is also strikingly similar to the missteps newspapers have already made in regards to the web. Rather than embrace the web version, many newspapers erected a wall around their content that required registration to pass, a wall that still exists for some papers. And it was this required registration that helped drive people away from these sites and towards other news sources.

And while Murdoch's News Corp. may be able to afford such a grand experiment, it's not hard to guess what we will learn from it: content that disappears from Google is easily replaced by other content from Google.

Microsoft Bing Courts European Newspapers

News Corp. isn't the only media company that might be leaving Google. Microsoft is courting several European newspapers in a bid for them to drop Google in favor of Bing. Playing to the newspaper industry's feeling that Google News doesn't do them any favors, Microsoft hopes they will become a weapon against the search giant.

While News Corp Pulls Out of Google, European Newspapers May Be Headed to Bing originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 14:33:05.

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Microsoft Adds Wolfram|Alpha to Bing

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:45:25 +0000

The big push of Microsoft's $100 million advertising campaign for Bing is that it is a "decision engine." And after five months, Microsoft might actually be putting some fact into that statement.

When Bing first appeared, I noted that it was far more Google than Wolfram|Alpha, the search engine that actually can answer your questions. In that time, Microsoft has added a lot of new features to Bing, including real-time search, but it's the recent announcement that Wolfram|Alpha will be integrated into the Bing engine that turns it toward being a true "decision engine".

But don't expect Google to just fall asleep and let Microsoft get ahead of them. Google has been adding the same functionality for a while now, though not without it's hiccup. One such feature Google played around with was adding the ability to answers basic questions like "When was Jesus born?" Unfortunately, they're answers haven't always been totally accurate.

Read the Wolfram:Alpha announcement on their blog

Microsoft Adds Wolfram|Alpha to Bing originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 15:45:25.

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Is 'The Social Network' a Comedy?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:43:19 +0000

According to Kevin Spacey, The Social Network might just be a comedy. An upcoming film about the creation of Facebook, The Social Network is based on The Accidental Billionaires, a book by Ben Mezrich. And in an interview with MTV, Kevin Spacey said the movie will be funnier than most people think.

Of course, those that remember Aaron Sorkin, the guy behind The Social Network's screenplay, from his days at Sports Night won't find the humor surprising. Sorkin can be very funny and can pull off some very memorable scenes. Unfortunately, he's got a bad habit of making everyone in the world be card-bearing members of Mensa, so don't be surprised if everyone in the film right down to the downtrodden waiter and plucky janitor is a secret genius.

But while The Social Network may be long on laughs, don't expect it to be long on facts. Bringing Down the House, Ben Mezrich's previous book and the basis for the movie '21', was criticized for not being wholly accurate, and The Accidental Billionaires didn't have the buy in of Mark Zuckerberg, which will no doubt leave a big hole in the story.

Buy The Accidental Billionaires

Is 'The Social Network' a Comedy? originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 12:43:19.

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TweetDeck Disappears From iPhone App Store

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:06:20 +0000

There is little doubt that TweetDeck is among the best, most fully-featured Twitter apps for the iPhone, but one reason why I've favored Echofon (formerly TwitterFon) these last few months is the number of bugs in TweetDeck. Specifically, I had a problem with it randomly crashing out of the app.

So, I was anxiously awaiting the update to TweetDeck 1.1 in hopes that it would cure the problem and let me switch back to using it as my main mobile Twitter client. Unfortunately, the release seems to have gone the other way, so much so that it has been pulled from the app store until the app-crashing bugs can be cleaned out of the application. Fortunately, we shouldn't have to wait too long because a new version has already been submitted to Apple for approval. (Check out new features in TweetDeck v1.1.)

9 Free iPhone Twitter Clients

TweetDeck Disappears From iPhone App Store originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 15:06:20.

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Google Not Interested in Content

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:00:28 +0000

"Google to buy New York Times." It is a rumor that has circulated ever since the newspaper industry began teetering on the brink of extinction. The rumor heated up earlier this year when Scott Galloway, a Harbinger appointee on the New York Times board, put out a feeler to Larry Page, co-founder of Google. And the rumor has circulated as recent as this week, when it surfaced on CNBC's Squawk on the Street.

But according to Google CEO Eric Schmidt, it's just not happening, at least, not any time in the future. In an interview with Neil Cavuto on Fox Business, Schmidt admits that Google took a serious look at the New York Times along with other content companies and decided that Google wasn't a content company. It simply wasn't something they were good at doing.

"It is highly unlikely we would get into the content business. It is fundamentally better for us to be the supplier of platforms and monetization and revenue and advertising and subscription services to all of these players. We desperately need the newspapers, the magazines, the media companies to be successful because we need their content."

Of course, Google may have been thinking about some of the backlash that occurred when they announced Google Knol. Even though Google Knol is a platform rather than a content service, similar to YouTube and other Google holdings, many bloggers felt that it was a step in the direction of becoming a content company, which would put Google in a position to boost its own rankings with its most popular asset: the Google search engine.

But for now, it seems that Google is content with just battling it out with Apple with its Android OS and putting the nail in Microsoft's coffin with its Chrome OS. They'll let other people report on the outcome of those battles.

Google Not Interested in Content originally appeared on About.com Web Trends on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 16:00:28.

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