For the first time, Apple’s iOS generates more web traffic than Mac OS X

iPhones and iPads now account for more web traffic than Macs, according to a study by ad network Chitika.

Chitika measured the percentage of its ad impressions that were delivered to iOS devices and the percentage going to OS X devices. According to the firm, iOS has been steadily gaining ground since August, 2011, while OS X has lost 25 percent of its market share since September.

As of February, 2011, the iOS market share … Continue Reading

Gameloft Live enters the social mobile fray on Android, coming to iOS soon

Global games publisher Gameloft announced today its new gaming hub service, Gameloft Live. In a move that should surprise no one, the company has taken the concept and the name of a console gaming service (Xbox Live) and repurposed it for the mobile space with a dedicated Android app, available now, and a soon-to-be-released iOS app.

According to the press release, Gameloft Live is a new version of the multiplayer service already in many Gameloft-published … Continue Reading

Urge app helps you keep impulse spending in check (exclusive)

While personal financial services like Mint.com offer a pretty dashboard with detailed information about how your money is spent, they does little to prevent the powerful emotional responses associated with impulse purchases. For instance, the knowledge that you’ve already spent $50 at Starbucks this week won’t prevent you from buying yet another cup of coffee under the right circumstances — (especially if you’re a drowsy journalists working on deadline).

New startup Urge plans to address … Continue Reading

The free ride is over: Facebook likely adding mobile ads “within weeks”

With Facebook’s financial situation firmly in the spotlight after its IPO filing, the company will finally address the problem of generating revenues from mobile users by introducing mobile ads in the next few weeks.

One of Facebook’s biggest risks Facebook listed in last week’s IPO filing was “mobile,” and the company said it generates no “meaningful revenue from the use of Facebook mobile products.” One solution would be to launch a Facebook-branded phone that would … Continue Reading

How Camera+’s John Casasanta made millions off a $1 app

Earlier this month, Tap Tap Tap reported that its Camera+ iPhone app had raked in $5.1 million since launching in June 2010. In this exclusive interview with Tap Tap Tap founder John Casasanta, we talk about the company’s run-ins with Apple, the secrets behind its record download numbers, and developers’ hopes for the iPhone 5.

VentureBeat: Camera+ has been out since June 2010 and has had its ups and downs (volume button shutter release, anyone?). … Continue Reading

HTML5 versus Adobe Flash (infographic)

One of Steve Jobs’ last major acts before passing was to launch an attack on Adobe Flash. Mobile Apple devices began blocking Flash-powered content, and Apple even went so far as to prevent iOS developers from using Flash — one of the most popular multimedia programming platforms — in their apps. Apple positioned HTML5 not as an alternative, but as a replacement. A few months later that decision was reversed based on “developer feedback” (i.e. … Continue Reading

Android users are more likely to have sex on first date

A recent survey by Match.com has revealed Android users need lovin’ a little quicker than iPhone and Blackberry users.

The survey was broken down by Match.com’s “Relationship Insider” Kimberly Moffit, who revealed that 75 percent of Canadian singles believe e-mail and texting have significantly improved their dating life. “More so than zodiac signs or astrology, smart phones are the new way Canadian singles can decode their dating style and determine if they’ve met their match,” … Continue Reading

IBM buys Worklight, launches its own BYOD manager

IBM announced its own “bring your own device” manager today, as well as its most recent acquisition, Worklight, which helps companies focus on developing applications for multiple operating systems.

BYOB, or bring your own beer, used to be the simple way to get a party going. You’re at a party, you’re thirsty, but oh wait, you brought that six pack. Now you don’t have to awkwardly ask the hostess where the fridge is, wonder if … Continue Reading

Contact information app Hello wants to replace your contact list

Evernote chief executive Phil Libin believes alphabetical contact lists are outdated. And even though his contact app Hello took off like a lead balloon, he hopes that updates coming in the next couple of weeks will help it kill the typical contact list and replace it with a mosaic of photos.

Ever since the note-taking startup Evernote launched, it has been on a quest to capture and organize every bit of data from your life. … Continue Reading

Skyfire gets $8M to stream mobile videos without any wait

Mobile browsing and video optimization company Skyfire announced today it has raised $8 million in its third round of funding.  The round was facilitated by Verizon Investments, Matrix Partners, Trinity Ventures, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Skyfire gained popularity as an alternative to the stock browsers on Android and iOS devices. Since Apple does not provide Flash support for its mobile devices, many people flocked to Skyfire’s browser apps to watch in-browser Flash videos on their … Continue Reading

Apple smashes Q1 estimates with $13B profit; record iPhone, iPad, Mac sales

After disappointing Wall Street last quarter, Apple has made a massive comeback reporting record net profit of $13.06 billion on revenue of $46.33 billion for the first quarter.

Analysts have been speculating since December that this would be a blowout quarter for Apple. Meanwhile, Wall Street expected earnings of $10.07 per share on revenues of $38.76 billion, according to Piper Jaffray’s Gene Munster. Simply put, Apple blew pretty much every estimate out of the water.… Continue Reading

Mobile data shrinking app Onavo raises $10M, working on compression for Android

Onavo, a company known for its iPhone app that shrinks mobile data, announced today that it has raised an additional $10 million in a second round of funding from Horizons Ventures and Motorola Mobility Ventures.

Guy Rosen, Onavo’s co-founder and CEO, told VentureBeat the  funding is an “excellent validation” of the company’s work. The company has won several awards and accolades for its seamless data compression technology (including top prize at our MobileBeat 2011 conference) … Continue Reading

Vimeo begins rolling out silky smooth redesign with huge videos

Prominent video sharing site Vimeo has begun rolling out a striking redesign that emphasizes clean aesthetics and larger videos that promote immersion, the company revealed today.

With the goal of providing a better video viewing experience no matter where you are, the redesign goes hand in hand with the recent launch of Android and Windows Phone apps and soon-to-launch iOS apps. No matter where you go, the service aims to “put video first,” a phrase … Continue Reading

Android may finally surpass iOS for developers in 2012

While Android has for sometime been outpacing iOS on the consumer side in terms of growth and market share, developers have still clung to iOS for building new apps.

However, new research shows that 2012 might be the year that changes.

According to research and analysis firm Ovum, developers will start thinking of Android as more important than iOS for development projects and apps in the coming 12 months.

“A smartphone platform’s success is dictated … Continue Reading

Sulake CEO discusses Niko, Habbo Hotel and the drive to move audiences across platforms

With over 10 million unique visitors a month, Habbo Hotel is the world’s largest game and online community for teenagers, with users in over 150 countries. With parent company Sulake releasing Niko, its second iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch) game, this week, VentureBeat spoke to chief executive Paul LaFontaine, about his cross-platform strategy.

LaFontaine was named as Sulake CEO in September 2011, having previously been vice president of global distribution at Playdom. This appointment coincided … Continue Reading

Google: 250M Android devices activated, 11B Android Market app downloads

Confirming Android’s ridiculous growth, Google CEO Larry Page announced today on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call that there are 250 million Android devices activated.

Additionally, over 11 billion apps have been downloaded from the Android Market.

Apple announced in October that over 250 million iOS devices were sold (including iPads and the iPod Touch), which means that Android has basically caught up with Apple’s two-year head start in the smartphone market. Google added 50 … Continue Reading

Developer shares costs and sales expectations as Whale Trail hits Android Market

The mobile game Whale Trail has been released on the Android platform this week, following steady sales of the iOS version late last year. With a refreshingly candid approach, developer UsTwo has talked about how much the game cost to develop, and whether it is likely to see a return on its investment.

UsTwo co-founder Matt Mills has expressed his disappointment with Whale Trail sales to date. There have been 140,000 paid downloads of the … Continue Reading

Customer loyalty is key to gaining a share of the in-app purchase riches

In-app purchases are predicted to dominate the mobile-app market in the next few years. Revenue from in-app purchases, worth $970M in 2011, is expected to rise to over $5 billion by 2015, and a study by Localytics highlights the importance of generating customer loyalty, in order for developers to gain a share in these riches.

With the majority of top grossing apps, such as Tap Zoo and Smurfs Village, now based on a freemium model, … Continue Reading

iPhone 4S helps Apple catch up with Android among recent smartphone buyers

Apple’s iPhone 4S is incredibly popular with consumers — so much so that it’s eating heavily into Android’s market share among those who’ve purchased smartphones within the past three months.

Apple’s market share among recent smartphone buyers in the U.S. rose from 25.1 percent in October to 44.5 percent in December, while Android’s fell from 61.6 percent to 46.9 percent last month, according to the latest numbers from Nielsen.

The numbers don’t exactly come as … Continue Reading

Airbnb launches Android app, saves itineraries locally

Airbnb, the website that lets you turn your house into a nightly hotel, introduced its Android application today, along with a new mobile website.

Airbnb lets people list their homes online for short-time renting. The company says that nearly 10 percent of its traffic comes from mobile users. Currently, the company only has an iOS application, which has been downloaded 500,000 times. But as popular as iPhones are, they are still not the No. 1 … Continue Reading