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ANDROID EATS UP MOBILE DATA: Among the top 15 countries for mobile data usage, 12 hold a market share distribution dominated by Android, according to new data from mobile analytics company Mixpanel. Further, about 64% of all mobile data generated by the top 15 countries comes from Android devices. Most Android data activity stems from Spanish-, Portuguese-, Russian-, and German-speaking countries. iOS held on to a majority share of the markets in just France, Japan, and the Netherlands.
It's an important breakthrough for Android's overall platform engagement, and it's coinciding with the growing proliferation of mobile phones across developing nations. With Android's massive 80% device market share worldwide, it makes sense that its share of overall mobile usage would follow a similar path. In years prior, Apple was frequently cited as the platform whose users were most active, as they captured a majority of power users in developed, affluent nations. However, Mixpanel's stats offer us a glimpse into the regions where Android's strategy to reach for global scale is starting to pay off, transitioning to a more even race between the two platforms, at least in terms of usage. Monetization is another story. (TechCrunch)
SAMSUNG WATCH SHUNS ANDROID: Samsung's updated Galaxy Gear smartwatch won't run on Android. Instead, it will use the open-source Tizen platform. USA Today reports that Samsung is trying to push more of their own software and services. Samsung's original Galaxy Gear did run on Android. (USA Today)
QUOTE OF THE DAY - "We definitely are seeing the power of introducing additional apps from Facebook, which aren't necessarily a subset of features from the Facebook app but which give you different ways to interact with your social graph and the content that's out there." - Facebook engineering director Jocelyn Goldfein talking to VentureBeat about Facebook's continued persistence in locking down the mobile ecosystem. Goldfein also admits that initially leaning on HTML5 web apps was a mistake, and alludes to a potential refresh of Facebook Home. (VentureBeat)
CONSUMER IoT ADOPTION: Stacey Higginbotham at GigaOm has a comprehensive rundown of the site's multiple discussions about how to bring the Internet of Things to the mainstream. Topics include which device will provide the right entry point for the connected home, why consumers shouldn't wait on Apple to get into the market, and the business of IoT apps. (GigaOm)
SPOTIFY IPO? Music streaming service Spotify is looking to recruit a U.S. financial reporting specialist, which signals the company's intentions of filing for an IPO in the near future. Spotify raised a massive $250 million this past November and is one of the leading platforms in the growing music streaming space. (Reuters)
KING'S NEXT CANDY CRUSH: Candy Crush game maker King just filed for a $500 million IPO, but the game itself might be heading toward a decline in user growth, engagement, and revenue. So what is King's next move? King only has two other games in rotation right now, but its developers need to innovate and continue to launch new titles in order to recapture the massive success of Candy Crush ahead of the IPO. (Re/code)
E-COMMERCE LIFTS CHINESE FARMERS: Businessweek profiles an elderly Chinese farming couple who have embraced digital and operate an online marketplace to sell their crops from their small inland village. The site is officially known as Young Village Officials' Farm. The couple initially made a Sina Weibo account. They then upgraded to selling goods on the Taobao.com platform. A McKinsey study showed that consumers in smaller cities and villages in China spent an average of 27% of their disposable income on e-commerce retailers. "E-commerce is bridging the gap between people's aspirations and what is locally available offline," said Yougang Chen, a McKinsey partner in China who wrote the report. (Businessweek)
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SAMSUNG STILL DOMINATES CHINA: New IDC data shows that in the fourth quarter, Samsung held on to roughly 19% of all smartphone shipments in Greater China. Lenovo and Coolpad followed with 13% and 11%, respectively. (Engadget)
TABLETS GET DOWN TO BUSINESS: Can the tablet finally replace the laptop for business practices and productivity applications? Joanna Stern at the Wall Street Journal gives a video demo of four leading tablet devices to break down what they can bring to the table in the business world. (Wall Street Journal)
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