Tag: mobile commerce technology

Estimates reveal that these two operating systems have a 91 percent control over the market.

Analysts from the International Data Corporation have revealed their latest technology news estimates following the sales of mobile devices in the fourth quarter of 2012, which have shown that Android and iOS made up 91.1 percent of all smartphone sales.

This shows that nine out of every ten devices is based on Google or Apple’s operating system.

Between those two companies, the technology news for Android is the most positive, as it is that operating system that holds the top spot. In fact, during the last quarter of last year, almost 69 percent of all smartphone sales were devices that ran on Google’s mobile operating system. There were approximately 500 million smartphones sold based on Android in 2012. At the same time, Apple sold approximately 136 million devices, giving it a 19 percent share of the smartphone market.

The technology news for Apple was greatest in Western markets.

The reason that its numbers increased as quickly as they did wasn’t because of any top technology news releases such as because of a brand new device. Though the excitement related to the iPhone 5 release did contribute, many of the device sales were of the iPhone 4 and 4S, which had lower prices when they were no longer the latest devices from the manufacturer.

In terms of the market share held by other companies, the sale of BlackBerry devices dipped by over 36 percent last year. It should be noted that the recovery of that company did not happen until after this study was complete, as the BlackBerry 10 was only released within the last few weeks. It is, therefore, difficult to gauge the current position of that operating system in the grand scheme.

Microsoft phones were estimated to be at the bottom of the top four operating systems. Their latest technology news statistics placed their market share at 2.5 percent during the last quarter of 2012. It remains difficult to determine where the market shares will be by the end of this year, as considerable partnerships and releases will certainly occur between now and that time.

Urban Airship acquires Tello to expand mobile commerce and other services

Urban Airship, a mobile technology company based in the U.S., has announced its acquisition of Tello, a mobile application developer that aims to bring simplicity to the current generation of mobile technologies. Tello launched in September of this year but already accounts for thousands of customers, including famous sports teams and telecommunications companies. Tello has a strong focus on Apple’s Passbook service, which is a pseudo-mobile commerce platform that allows consumers to store digital coupons, tickets, and other such content in their mobile device.

Passbook continues receiving interest from Urban Airship and Tello

Passbook is something that Urban Airship has shown a great deal of interest in recently. Through its acquisition of Tello, the company believes that it will be able to broaden its reach to consumers, as they will not be required to download an application in order to access services Urban Airship and Tello offer through Passbook. Currently, much of the company’s interest in Passbook concerns the marketing sector. Urban Airship believes that Passbook could be a strong platform for marketers that are looking to engage mobile consumers.

Apple attempts to placate mobile commerce demands with Passbook

Apple has shown some interest in mobile commerce, but chose not to include NFC technology in the latest rendition of its popular iPhone platform. This decision was harshly criticized by Apple fans that have been demanding mobile commerce capabilities. Passbook was developed as a way to address these demands and is meant to serve as a digital wallet that can store a wide range of information and content for users. Though Passbook cannot facilitate mobile payments by itself, it can be used as an effective tool for the other aspects of mobile commerce.

Push notifications could be a boon for app developers

Urban Airship currently powers the push notifications in many of the world’s most popular mobile applications. These notifications allow businesses to send messages directly to consumers who have their application in stalled on their smart phone or tablet device. According to Urban Airship, applications that make use of push notifications experience a 400% increase in consumer engagement.