Another Good Sign For the Mobile Industry: Location-Based Data Keeps Growing
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Location-Based Analytics Company Placed Now Measures 100 Million Locations Per Day (Placed)
Placed, one of the leaders in location-based analytics, has experienced rapid growth. Since January, they have increased their daily location measurements by 80 million locations. Also, its active opt-in mobile panelists have increased 193% since January to over 100,000. It's further indication of the importance of location-based services in the broader mobile industry. Placed also released its State Of Place: Q2 2013 report, where it surveyed offline location-based behaviors of American consumers. Read >
Google Maps Now Features Promoted Search Ads (The Verge)
Google is beginning to experiment with ads in its mobile Maps app on Android and iOS. Maps app users will now be presented with a sponsored result when they search for a local establishment within the app. It's further testament to the dominance of search ad formats on mobile. Read >
Signs Of A Net User Decline For Android In The U.S. (Asymco)
Horace Dediu surveys comScore platform data to show that even though Android stayed relatively static in terms of market share, it actually lost device users for the first time in the U.S. Read >
Hidden Contacts Revealed Within Apple's iOS In The Car (Apple Insider)
Apple revealed plans for an iOS in the car system at its World Wide Developers Conference last month. But after closer examination, Apple Insider found several pieces of evidence that point to iOS in the car as a real product already, not just a conceptual demo. Apple may be trying to gain a step on its competitors in the relatively untapped connected car market. For further insight, please refer to the BI Intelligence report, Is The Car The Next Frontier For The Mobile Revolution? Read >
Facebook Takes On Snapchat With Instagram Photo Messaging (TechCrunch)
Facebook updated its Messenger app on iOS to allow users to send their Instagram photos to friends on the messaging service. It's clearly attempting to enter the burgeoning picture messaging arena, which is dominated by Snapchat and WhatsApp. Those messaging apps send 200 million and 325 million photo messages per day, respectively. Read >
YouTube Founders Challenge Instagram And Vine With New App (New York Times)
Another prominent company is attempting to flood the mobile photo-sharing space. MixBit is the new app from YouTube's founders and it is a video creation app that is very similar to Instagram and Vine, but is focused on editing and mixing support that Vine and Instagram lack. For further insight, please refer to the BI Intelligence report, Opportunities In The Mobile Photo-Sharing Ecosystem: Is There Life After Instagram? Read>
Acer Turns Its Back On Windows 8 (Cite World)
The struggling electronics manufacturer — which was once a large backer of Microsoft's Windows 8 computing platform — has stated its intention to sell more Google Chromebooks and Android devices. HP and Lenovo also recently have shifted focus from Microsoft to Google for their devices. Read >
T-Mobile Gains 1.1 Million Customers (Engadget)
During the second quarter, T-Mobile gained 1.1 million customers. It's clearly correlated to the launch of its UnCarrier business plan, which ditches two-year wireless subscription plans and allows customers to upgrade faster. Read >